Wireless network having control plane segregation

ABSTRACT

A wireless network having control plane segregation is described herein. In one embodiment, an exemplary network architecture includes, but is not limited to, multiple access points coupled to a wired network, where each of the access points is capable of communicating with one or more mobile nodes over a wireless network. The exemplary network architecture further includes a controller coupled to the access points over the wired network, where the controller maintains network traffic information of the wireless network and communicates the network traffic information with the access points to enable the access points to cooperate with each other to provide network services to the one or more mobile nodes over the wireless network. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to wireless networks. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to a wireless network havingcontrol plane segregation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wireless networking has grown into an expansive field. Specifically,Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) has received much attention as a technology forwireless local area networks (WLAN). Furthermore, various newtechnologies such as WiMax are receiving attention as possibly awireless backhaul technology for internetworking wireless networks forhotspots and 3G wireless networks. Although significant WiFi penetrationhas been made in the SOHO (small office/home office) and residentialmarkets; WiFi's penetration within the enterprise and the carrier hasbeen limited by a number of challenges. Some of the key challenges facedby the carrier, large campus and enterprise networks in adoptingwireless networks have been lack of reliability and scalability. Thesecoupled with the lack of multi-streaming, multi-service support andlimitations in a client node capacity have all contributed to hinder thepenetration of the mobile wireless networks on a wider scale.

A typical wireless network includes multiple mobile nodes that operatein an ad-hoc manner or else are connected to an access point and operatein an infrastructure manner. Certain conventional systems incorporatemultiple mobile nodes interconnected with a single access point andutilize a single wireless connection pathway for their communications.In a traditional wireless architecture, the wireless connection pathwaysare shared. In such a topology, the mobile nodes have to share theaccess to the medium. Furthermore, access points typically utilize asingle frequency or channel that interconnects with one mobile node at agiven time. Typically the access point provides the primary ways forforwarding information from the given mobile nodes to the local areanetwork (LAN) utilizing a back haul connection pathway. In a traditionalwireless network the back haul connection is typically a wired interfaceto the local area network.

In a conventional wireless network, one of the compelling performancelimitations is packet latency. Latency in this context refers to thetime delay between when a given mobile node is ready to make a requestto the access point for transferring a packet, and the time when accesspoint is prepared to accept the packet transfer and so informs themobile node. If a given mobile node makes a request to an access pointthat it has a packet ready for transfer, but the access point hasalready arbitrated access of the medium to a different mobile node thenthe first mobile node has no choice but to wait until the medium isavailable once again. One of the prevalent problems with such atraditional wireless network is that the access to the network from thefirst mobile node's perspective is unpredictable. Such a variation inthe access of the medium results in a lack of quality of service and isof paramount concern in real time network services. Furthermore, as moremobile nodes enter the range of an access point, the average bandwidthavailable to each mobile node decreases by virtue of the shared medium.

Thus, an integrated switching wireless telecommunications networkcapable of supporting multiple applications, multiple streams in ascalable and reliable manner is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A wireless network having control plane segregation is described herein.In one embodiment, an exemplary network architecture includes, but isnot limited to, multiple access points coupled to a wired network, whereeach of the access points is capable of communicating with one or moremobile nodes over a wireless network. The exemplary network architecturefurther includes a controller coupled to the access points over thewired network, where the controller maintains network trafficinformation of the wireless network and communicates the network trafficinformation with the access points to enable the access points tocooperate with each other to provide network services to the one or moremobile nodes over the wireless network.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary local area network (LAN) with aconnection to the Internet according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary a local area network (LAN) connectedto the Internet according to an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary wireless access point (AP).

FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary mobile node 1 (MN1).

FIGS. 4A-4C are flow diagrams illustrating exemplary processes forprocessing packets.

FIGS. 5A-5B are a diagrams illustrating wireless networks according tocertain embodiments.

FIGS. 5C-5D are flow diagrams illustrating exemplary multiple APassociation according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the realized performance of an infrastructurebased wireless network.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an Ad Hoc based wireless network.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of the realized performance of an Ad Hoc basedwireless network.

FIG. 9 illustrates a converged wireless access point (AP) and networkinterface module (NN) based wireless network.

FIG. 10A illustrates a non-mobile access point.

FIG. 10B illustrates a non-mobile computer with a wireless networkinterface module (NN) based wireless link.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary single parameter control plane.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary segregated parameter control plane.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of a scalable wireless network.

FIGS. 14A-14B are diagrams of wireless link allocation within thescalable wireless network architecture.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a real-time wireless link allocation (L1-L5)within the scalable wireless network architecture.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a controller based real-time wireless link(L1-L5) allocation within the scalable wireless network architecture.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of an exemplary controller based real-timecell allocation.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary channel usage diagram within the scalablewireless network architecture.

FIG. 19 is an exemplary switched real-time channel usage diagram withinthe scalable wireless network architecture.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary simultaneous real-time channel usage diagramwithin the scalable wireless network architecture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A wireless network having control plane segregation is described herein.In one embodiment, exemplary network architecture includes multipleaccess points coupled to a wired network, where each of the accesspoints is capable of communicating with one or more mobile nodes over awireless network. The exemplary network architecture further includes acontroller coupled to the access points over the wired network, wherethe controller maintains network traffic information of the wirelessnetwork and communicates the network traffic information with the accesspoints to enable the access points to cooperate with each other toprovide network services to the one or more mobile nodes over thewireless network. FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a wireless networkhaving control plane segregation according to one embodiment.

In the following description, numerous details are set forth to providea more thorough explanation of the present invention. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form,rather than in detail, in order to avoid obscuring the presentinvention.

Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented interms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on databits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the ways used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desiredresult. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physicalquantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take theform of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It hasproven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing theoperations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored inthe computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type ofdisk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, andmagnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random accessmemories (RAMs), erasable programmable ROMs (EPROMs), electricallyerasable programmable ROMs (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or anytype of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and eachcoupled to a computer system bus.

The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specializedapparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structurefor a variety of these systems will appear from the description below.In addition, the present invention is not described with reference toany particular programming language. It will be appreciated that avariety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachingsof the invention as described herein.

A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes read onlymemory (“ROM”); random access memory (“RAM”); magnetic disk storagemedia; optical storage media; flash memory devices; electrical, optical,acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals, etc.); etc.

Overview

According to one aspect of the invention, an apparatus includes anintelligent system controller enabled as a physical device or as avirtual distributed functionality. The intelligent system controller hasthe capability to get statuses from one or more intelligent accesspoints and intelligent network interface modules within the network andto cooperate with the intelligent components in establishing command andcontrol to provide a scalable, reliable network. The access points havethe capability of either working independently or in conjunction withthe intelligent controller and the intelligent mobile nodes to deliveradvanced services within a scalable wireless network.

According to the invention, a system controller includes a singlechassis or multi chassis resident in a centralized location, capable ofaccessing one or more distributed access points. The access points maybe located or collocated either with the central controller or they maybe distributed across a large network that may be physically segregatedfrom the central location. Multiple intelligent access points have thecapability of connecting to one or more intelligent network interfacemodules (NIMs). The intelligent NIMs may be located in a computer or anintelligent device such as in a network appliance or a PDA. Theintelligent access point aggregates one or more network interfacemodules and provides advance services, including, for example, qualityof service, traffic segregation, and traffic prioritization, etc.

According to one embodiment, the system controller may further includedisparate multiple chassis, where the controller functionality isprovided in a cooperative virtual distributed manner. The functionalityof the controller may be achieved within one or more of the intelligentcontrollers, intelligent access points, intelligent network interfacemodules or disparate operational units such as computers.

According to one embodiment, the system controller includes a single ormulti chassis incorporating one or more processing functions which areable to deliver the processes and control functions and demands to theaccess points on a as needed basis. The system controller is cognizantof the local traffic and other conditions at one or more intelligentaccess points.

In another embodiment, a method for a real-time scalable wirelessswitching network is provided via an intelligent controller residing ata central location. The intelligent controller can be distributed atremote sites and communicates to one or more access points. The accesspoints can be distributed across a wide network. According to oneembodiment, the intelligent controller has the capability ofcommunicating and controlling the functionality of these intelligentaccess points.

The controller has the capability of communicating with one or moreaccess points within a large network and providing the location basedand subscriber based information to additional upstream controllers.Note that multiple controllers may be interconnected to provide adistributed large scalable network for a service provider. In oneembodiment, a method of interconnection of intelligent access points tonetwork interface modules (NIMs) is provided. Both the access points andthe NIMs may be within the same physical network or segregated acrossmultiple networks.

In a further embodiment, a method for communication between the systemcontrollers, the intelligent access points and the intelligent NIMs isprovided, such that information can be passed across the system andintelligent decisions can be made regarding the topology of the networkand the immediate conditions of one or more parameters. The informationregarding one or more parameters can be used to make intelligentdecisions regarding traffic policies, quality of service, and otherperformance and service related parameters including frequency and powerusage, etc., within the wireless network.

In one embodiment, variable classes of service may be delivered withinthe context of a unified wireless network, where one or more subscribersmay be treated differently based on the subscriber's profile, or theapplication's profile, or the combination thereof.

According to one embodiment, a control and command plane may besegregated from the actual traffic data plane within the scalablewireless network. The access points and mobile nodes are flexible intheir configuration. The network needs to communicate with theseelements from time to time to configure their functionality such aschannel usage, frequency usage, and power usage. The intelligentcomponents may maintain policy control regarding the quality of service,diversified routing capability and other information for the optimizedmanagement of the intelligent components. Traditional wireless accesspoints and networks utilize the same communication pathways forcommunicating the management and control information that is used forcommunicating the data to be transferred. According to one embodiment, aseparate link may be utilized for the control and command packets, whilethe data traffic is being transferred over another link.

The incorporation of a segregated control and data plane provides adegree of traffic forecasting abilities. The system incorporates theability to queue one or more transactions based on a plurality ofparameters such as quality of service (QoS), class of service, andapplication type, etc. By use of intelligent queuing technologies, it isable to have a degree of predictability in regards to futuretransactions. Furthermore, a mechanism is provided for storing andretrieving a history of previous transaction to be used in aiding futurequeuing decisions.

The segregation of the control plane and the data plane rely on theprincipal that where resources are limited, efficiency is improved byonly transacting low priority traffic once all the higher prioritytraffic has been transacted. It is advantageous in comparison to thetraditional technologies in that a system is able to predict the futurestate of the network and make early decisions to determine if a grant ofa present request could lead to a future conflict. Traditional wirelesstechnologies generally have the ability of either granting a giventransaction or otherwise refusing a given transaction. By virtue ofusing a single plane for command and control plane and data plane, theconventional technologies cannot receive a transmission request untilthe preset transaction is complete. This approach is inferior in thatthe resultant transaction is unpredictable and even a slight delay inmaking the request can lead to losing the arbitration sequence. Thehigher priority losing mobile node has little choice but to wait for thenext arbitration time slot and to try to assert itself in thearbitration request. It is further advantageous in that once theintelligent controller or access point has received the request, therequesting node will be notified using the control and command channel.Upon receiving the notice from the controller, the requesting node canproceed to continue the transaction.

According to one embodiment, active congestion avoidance may besupported. Current technologies generally rely on information regardingonly the present state of the network, and have only an instantaneousview of the network. According to one embodiment, the system makesintelligent decisions with a view towards predicting the effect of thecommunication request grant on the likely state of the network in thefuture. Alternative routes for the completion of the transaction requestmay be provided. Any communication request is viewed by the controlleras a request to communicate from an originating node to a terminatingnode and based on the quality and class requirements of the transaction,alternative paths may be utilized for the completion of the transaction.

According to one embodiment, a persistence tag may be associated with agiven communication request and for treating the given request as atransaction. Thus, a given request is classified in terms of itslikely-hood of continuing to use the network resources. In an exemplaryvoice call transaction, the network attributes a high persistence to thetransaction request, where a single transaction data packet may have alower persistence associated with it. It is advantageous in that thetransaction persistence tag may be utilized to assist in congestionprediction and control.

In one embodiment, the control plane and the data plane may be virtuallysegregated. In such a topology, both the information requested and theinformation provided are within the same device and possibly even on asingle channel. Such an embodiment is advantageous in cases of severeinterference or other conditions that may limit the use of a fullysegregated control and data plane. In one embodiment, the intelligentnodes switch between a control channel and a data channel to maintainvirtual control plane segregation. In another embodiment, a singlechannel is used and the control plane and data plane share the channelto communicate.

In a further embodiment, the control plane and the data traffic planemay be segregated on separate multiple channels. In such an embodiment,the information regarding the management and control of the intelligentaccess points, mobile nodes, and other network components is segregatedinto a separate physical channels. Thus, for example, if thesubscriber(s) information is being transmitted and received on a givenfrequency channel, the command and control information is beingtransmitted and receive on a different frequency channel. One of theadvantages of such a network is that the command and control informationmay not demand the same performance as the subscriber's traffic on thedata channel. In one embodiment, the command and control channelcharacteristics remains fixed, while the connectivity of the trafficchannel is dynamic and may vary on a number of subscriber based orapplication based parameters, such as QoS, traffic class, andapplication type.

In one embodiment, the control plane is primarily responsible to collatethe traffic information, analyze the information, and optimize thenetwork performance in regards to one or more parameters such asfrequency, power and other characteristics of the wireless network. Thecontrol plane may alter in real-time physical characteristics of theintelligent access points, mobile nodes and other components within thenetwork with a view of the overall network topology. Mobile nodes maytravel amongst multiple access points. The system is able to analyze thepermutations and pre-select command and control parameters to provide amore efficient hand-off from one access point to another access pointfor a given mobile node. Furthermore, as the command and controlinformation may be provided to the intelligent access points in advanceof the data transaction, the data transaction my continue in a seamlessmanner.

The multi-stream segregated control plane mechanism may be advantageousin that for the given mobile nodes to communicate with the intelligentcontroller, a reservation of resources may be requested withoutaffecting the data operations. When such a command and control requestis made without using the data channel, the inefficiencies of thetraditional collision detection and contention resolution are minimized.The segregated multi-stream control plane mechanism provides thepredictive usage allocation by the intelligent controller, such that agiven frequency usage may be highly optimized. Consequently, the networkis better able to deliver and manage high performance real-timeservices.

In one embodiment of the invention, parameter storage is provided acrossone or more intelligent access points and intelligent mobile nodes foruse in cooperation with the controller. The contents of the parameterstorage may include information used in computation of the networkoptimization. The parameter storage may be shadowed within thecontroller or it may simply be distributed across the intelligentcontrollers. The parameter storage is made available to the localintelligent components and is advantageous when interconnection with thecontroller may be lost. In another embodiment of the invention, theparameter storage is located centrally within a controller and isbroadcast to the appropriate intelligent components from time to time.

In one embodiment of the invention, multiple connectivity may beestablished between an intelligent access point and a given intelligentmobile node. The multi-link connectivity can be used to segregate thecontrol plane from the traffic plane or to simply provide one or moreconnections across the given data plane. In one embodiment, the systemtransmits the command and control information on a given link, while thedata between the mobile nodes can be transmitted on a separate link. Inan alternative embodiment of the invention, the system can utilizeeither multiple links for command and control and multiple links fortraffic plane, both, or a combination of either. The multi-linkconnectivity is advantageous in that the network can differentiateclasses and quality of service and select the most appropriate link forthe given transaction. As new requests arrive at the intelligentcomponent, the system may elect to utilize an alternative link for sucha transaction without interrupting the transaction in progress.

In another embodiment of the invention, multiple communication links areavailable and used to provide multiple communications pathways. In suchan embodiment, the multiple communication pathways enable the network touse one or more of the communication pathways as the primarycommunications channels, while using the other communication pathways asthe secondary communications channels. The network may use the primaryand the secondary communication pathways interchangeably.

In another embodiment of the invention, the controller may utilizedmultiple pathways to perform load balancing of the network in thattraffic is distributed on a relatively even basis. In such anembodiment, the multi-path mechanism delivers a reliable bandwidth toeach of the mobile nodes, such that real time services can be carriedover the existing infrastructure in a load balanced manner.

The multi-path mechanism is advantageous in that the resultant networkcan be overlaid on top of existing traditional wireless network nodes.In such an exemplary deployment, if a given traditional mobile node onlyhas the ability of operating on a single frequency at a time, the systemsimply treats the secondary channels as unavailable. Where multiplechannels and frequencies are available within intelligent mobile nodes,the secondary channels are utilized to support either a segregatedcommand and control plane, or simply used to support data traffic.

One of the innovative characteristics of an embodiment of the inventionis that cut-thru forwarding is supported. In such an exemplary network,a high speed direct communication between nodes may not possible due toone or more factors, such as the relative distance between the nodes orinterference, etc. The mobile nodes may request service from thecontroller. Once the controller receives the request, the controller mayinspect the current spectral disposition of the network and determinesthe optimal path and bandwidth for the communication between the mobilenodes. The controller may elect for the mobile nodes to form a membergroup consisting of the originating mobile node, a terminating mobilenode, and one or more forwarding mobile nodes. Alternatively, thecontroller may elect to form multiple member groups to form a chain ofcut-thru forwarding member groups. The first group may include theoriginating mobile node and the first forwarding node at a givenchannel, and the last group may include the last forwarding node and theterminating node at an alternative channel, and one or more mobile nodesmay be implemented as one or more intermediate forwarding nodes. Withuse of multi-link connectivity, the system may perform cut-thruforwarding, where the forwarding nodes do not have to wait for thecomplete reception of the packet from the originating or priorforwarding node before starting to relay the packet to the mobile nodes.

In one embodiment, the controller may cooperate with the individualmobile nodes to select a combination of traditional forwardingmechanisms and to select the intelligent forwarding mechanisms. Thesegregated group members are formed in a manner, such that thecontrolled may elect to operate certain intelligent mobile nodes intraditional mode based on system wide optimization while operating otherintelligent mobile nodes in an intelligent cut-thru forwarding mode.

In one embodiment, semi-hoc operation mode may be supported, where theintelligent component may substantially simultaneously operate as aninfrastructure access point component and an ad-hoc mobile component.Traditional ad-hoc networks allow mobile nodes to communicate with eachother, where traditional infrastructure networks require mobile nodes tocommunicate with access points that in-turn provide the routing andforwarding services. Traditional wireless networks operate in one of twomodes, either ad-hoc or infrastructure. According to one embodiment ofthe invention, in the semi-hoc mode, the intelligent componentssimultaneously operate as an ad-hoc network and as an infrastructurebased network. Based on the requirements of the service requested, thecommand and control request for service is established on oneoperational model, while the connection is established over anotheroperational model. The intelligent access points may communicate withone or more operational modes, such as ad-hoc, infrastructure, andsemi-hoc. Alternatively, segregating operational modes may be based ontraffic classes or qualities, such as data service versus voice traffic.

In one embodiment of the invention, multiple links may be establishedsimultaneously within the wireless network. The behavior and theallocation of the multiple links may also be controlled in real-time.

The real-time channel allocation mechanism provides the capability,where an intelligent mobile node may communicate with anotherintelligent component, such as another intelligent mobile node, on agiven channel. The intelligent node, in cooperation with otherintelligent mobile nodes, access points and intelligent controllers, maythen elect to change the priority and preference of the given channel inreal-time. In association with such a real-time alteration of thechannel characteristics, the transaction in progress or additionaltransactions in queue are reallocated to the new condition of thenetwork in real-time.

In one embodiment of the invention, the intelligent nodes may supportmultiple channels for communications. In such an embodiment, theintelligent node may utilize one of the channels to communicate with theintelligent components, such as another mobile node. Further, one of theother channels may be utilized for communication with additionalrequired intelligent components. It is advantageous in that the commandand control channel may be utilized by other intelligent components torequest to interrupt a given data channel already in use in real-time.The intelligent node may alter the priority of a given communicationlink and the priority and preference associated with the channel inreal-time.

In one embodiment, the controller may dynamically elect an intelligentcomponent to cooperate with one or more non-intelligent (e.g.,traditional) mobile nodes and serve as a non-intelligent access point.In this embodiment, the elected mobile node serves as a forwarding nodeto aggregate one or more non-intelligent mobile nodes and enforce one ormore policies established by the intelligent controller. It isadvantageous in that while the given non-intelligent mobile nodes areunable to cooperate with the controller, the elected intelligentcomponent has the ability to share its distributed capability with thenon-intelligent components and provide the advanced servicecapabilities. Furthermore, an intelligence encapsulation mechanism mayprovide the capability of cooperating with an existing non-intelligentnetwork and rapidly deploying the intelligence mechanisms of the presentinvention in an overlay manner and without requiring alteration of theexisting network.

In one embodiment, a local adaptation model is supported. Theintelligent controller, on a recurring basis, may poll one or moreaccess points or mobile nodes for local information to refresh itsinformation database. In such an embodiment, the intelligent controllerutilizes the queried information to implement a local adaptation model(LAM) and make intelligent policy decisions based on either apacket-by-packet basis or with finer or courser granularity. The LAMprovides enables the intelligent controller to maintain a network widescope and distribute the parameter policy information to the respectiveintelligent components for local implementation.

In one embodiment, the availability of parameter information ismaintained within the intelligent controller. In such an embodiment, ifcommunication connectivity is lost between the intelligent controllerand any of the intelligent components, the intelligent controller canapproximate the behavior of these components based on the previousinformation collected. The controller then utilizes the approximatedvalues to provide a best effort system wide approximation for the restof the intelligent components. Once the communication link with theinaccessible intelligent components is re-established the controllerwill then revert to a true network wide LAM.

Furthermore, from the perspective of the intelligent component that haslost connectivity to the intelligent controller, the component maydetect the connectivity loss and begin operating independently andprovide a seamless operating environment. Once the connectivity isre-established, the intelligent component reverts to cooperating withthe controller to provide a network wide LAM.

In traditional wireless networks, transmission effectiveness in awireless network is affected by a number of phenomenon such asatmospheric interference and interference from other mobile transmissionsources. Due to the real-time nature of the wireless link, the LAMprovides adaptation and control to compensate for the local time-variantconditions of the network in real-time. Time variant phenomenon mayresult in changes in capacity for a given wireless link or in some casesthe complete loss of communication on a given link. The LAM isadvantageous in that QoS requirements of the mobile nodes can bemaintained as the network adapts to the changing local conditions androuting around any wireless obstacles.

In one embodiment, the capability of local and network wide adaptationis supported, where subscriber service can be continued even in the caseof loss of comprehensive command and control capability. In such anembodiment, the notion of resilient adaptation network (RAN) isadvantageous, where the intelligent network components that have lostconnectivity with its peers or superior network components may act onthe behalf of the inaccessible device. The intelligent components mayelect to utilize the expanded functionality of the RAN to aid the peersor superior components in expanding the functionality of the network. Insuch an embodiment, an intelligent access point has a capability to acton behalf of a local controller and a mobile node has the capability toact on behalf of an intelligent access point. With RAN, the inferiornetworking components may continue operation by the virtual replacementof the superior networking components with minimal impact on theperformance of the network.

In one embodiment, a mobile node is able to provide routing andforwarding services on behalf of its superior components such as anintelligent access point. The mobile node then has the capability totake over the functionality of the intelligent access point when it isso required. It is advantageous in that it provides an alternative wayfor providing network services in case of temporary or permanent serviceoutages.

In one embodiment, the local controller may elect to request a givenmobile node connected to a given intelligent access point to operate inthe RAN mode while electing to request other mobile nodes to operate intraditional mobile node modes. The model node may provide temporarylocal routing means for communication to or from mobile nodes that haslimited range. While operating in the RAN mode, the affected networkcomponents are able to make intelligent decisions in the absence ofcommunication with superior components, such as intelligent accesspoints or system controllers. Thus, intelligent mobile nodes are able toselect parameters for optimizing the operation within their local scope.

In an alternative embodiment, one or more of the mobile nodes may act asa local controller or an intelligent access point for the benefit ofother mobile nodes. It is further advantageous in that it presents asingle elected controller device to coordinate multiple mobile nodeswithin its range, rather than having them optimized individually. In oneembodiment, the command and control functionality may be overlaid overan existing wireless network. In such an overlay operation, theintelligent controller, intelligent access points and the intelligentmobile nodes co-exist with non-intelligent wireless devices such astraditional wireless access points, and traditional mobile nodes. Insuch an overlay operation, the intelligent nodes may continue to supportthe intelligent features and function for the intelligent devices, whileproviding traditional functions and features for the traditionalwireless devices.

According to one embodiment, an alternative secondary communication pathmay be established by requesting a mobile node to forward the traffic toone or to one or more forwarding mobile nodes and to establish a localarea network (LAN) interconnection. Once the intelligent access pointhas established the secondary path, some or all of the trafficoriginally directed to the primary path can be re-routed thru thesecondary path. In one exemplary network topology, the primarycommunication path from the intelligent access point is wireless. In yetanother exemplary network topology, the intelligent access point acts asan aggregation device for one or more mobile nodes where the primaryport used is also a wireless connection.

According to another embodiment, the intelligent components maycooperate in providing network services such as routing, switching, andforwarding. The intelligent nodes may cooperate with the controller inestablishing policy control such as stream bit rates, quality ofservice, traffic class, among others. In this embodiment, theintelligent mobile nodes and the intelligent access points operate in adistributed fashion to implement the policies of the controller. Thecontroller cooperates with the mobile nodes to gather informationregarding the dynamic requirements of the network and to process thepolicy requirements based on the immediate conditions of the network.The controller further communicates the computed information to theindividual mobile nodes. Multiple mobile nodes may operate in anenforcement mode to ascertain that the overall network requirements arecontinually met without requiring the computational resources and otherresources for the entire network. It is further advantageous inmitigating administrative communication overhead, as well as reducingthe resource requirements of the intelligent controller in case of adeteriorated connection to the controller.

In one embodiment, subscribers, their applications, and the trafficassociated with the combination may be classified in a dynamic electedclass of service. The system may elect to subdivide or aggregatedifferent classes of service as may be convenient to meet theintelligent command and control parameters selected by a givenintelligent controller. Based on the information received from theintelligent controller, the intelligent access points or intelligentmobile nodes may adjust traffic types, priorities and other policieswith the classes of service in order to be able to comply with theoverall requirements of the network. The controller may elect to set orchange in real-time the class of service of a given subscriber, hisapplications, or the combination of both. The intelligent componentstreat such parameters as volatile, and would incorporate the changes toits routing and other policies associated with the prescribed change inthe classes of service in an expedient manner. It is furtheradvantageous in compensating for unpredictable real-time behavior of thewireless network by alternating the class of service for downstreamforwarding nodes to make up for inadequate performance of upstreamforwarding nodes.

In one embodiment, groups of members may be dynamically formed toutilize a common characteristic channel. The group membership of a givenset of intelligent nodes may be adjusted to further subdivide anddynamically alter the group members. An exemplary dynamic member set mayfirst include a given set of mobile nodes. In a given exemplary mode ofoperation, these members may utilize a given channel for command andcontrol, and utilize another given channel for the traffic data plane.In such an operational mode, if one mobile node needs to communicatewith another mobile node the controller may be notified of the requeston the command and control channel and based on one or more parametersthe controller may elect to maintain the data plane group membership tothe whole set of mobile nodes. Alternatively, the controller may electthat the subset of mobile groups requiring communication are temporarilysegregated to form a separate subgroup with a different channel for bothcommand and control as well as data plane or a combination of either. Insuch an exemplary scenario, the remaining nodes continue as member tothe original group and are free to communicate without having knowledge,interference from or access to the information exchanged between the newsubset of mobile nodes.

In one embodiment, the intelligent components may provide capacity awarerouting. As new mobile nodes enter the network, the total capacity andperformance requirements of the network change based on the additionalrequirements and resources of the entering node. In one embodiment, aningress based policy control is supported. As new mobile nodes enter therange of an intelligent component they negotiate policy and physicalcharacteristics parameters with the intelligent controller eitherdirectly or indirectly. The intelligent controller in return evaluatesthe new node's requirements, and provides the parameters that are leastintrusive on existing smart intelligent devices. The new mobile nodeinstead cooperates synergistically with the other intelligent componentswithin the network. The controller continues to ascertain therequirements of the incoming node, establish its proper class of serviceand other traffic policy conditions and its impact on other componentswithin the network by querying regularly from the new device.

In one embodiment, routing decisions may be made based on the currentdynamic state of the network. This is especially advantageous inwireless networks since the wireless links by their very nature are timevariant. If certain links become inoperable or the capacity partiallydeteriorates, the affected intelligent components provide thisinformation to the intelligent controllers. The intelligent controllersre-adjust the parameters as required and provide alternate routing pathsfor the various intelligent components. Furthermore, the controller mayelect to request inferior intelligent components to activate expandedfunctionality and initiate assisting their superior components. In suchan embodiment, a mobile node may be selected to operate as anintelligent access point and aid in providing infrastructure support tothe network.

In one embodiment, virtual routing is supported. The virtual routingcapability provides for a mechanism where the packets received by theintelligent access point from the intelligent mobile nodes areaggregated at a selected intelligent node such as an intelligentcontroller, an intelligent access point or at a selected mobile node.The selected intelligent component then analyzes and selects the optimalrouting path. The information is distributed to the required intelligentcomponents and thereafter, the packets follow the optimal path fromsource to destination. These routes are virtually allocated such thatthe pathways can be dynamically reassigned. The reassignment of thevirtual path make it feasible to be able to dynamically change therouting characteristics of the network in a convenient manner.

The intelligent controller may elect to support subscriber applicationbased routing. In such an alternative embodiment, the intelligentcomponents may cooperate with the intelligent controller to query theapplication type and other characteristics of the transaction. Thecontroller may elect to have the intelligent components route thetraffic based on the application information gathered.

In one embodiment, the intelligent access points and the intelligentmobile nodes may gather and analyze application data. In such anembodiment, the classification of traffic types with regard to specificsubscriber applications is made. The traffic types per subscriber allowthe subscriber to cooperate with the network to establish differentialtraffic policies for one or more subscriber applications. Thus, a givenwireless mobile node is able to have a specific voice applicationtreated with a specific policy, while another voice application from thesame subscriber may be treated with a different traffic policy.

In one embodiment, multiple routing pathways from a given mobile nodemay be established with another node within the network. The intelligentcomponents may elect to route the applications within a specific mobilenode in a diversified manner, where a specific application from aoriginating/terminating node may be routed differently from a differentapplication or from the same originating/terminating node. In oneembodiment, the resilient adaptation mode is utilized to provide thediversified routing pathways for carrying one or more traffic types. Insuch an embodiment, multiple communications channels are utilized by anintelligent access point, or a mobile node, to provide diversifiedconnectivity. If the number of available routes is inadequate for anexemplary embodiment, the intelligent controller may elect to utilizethe resilient adaptation model and request the mobile nodes to operateas their superior counterparts, namely intelligent access points. Suchan embodiment is advantageous as it provides greater routes fordiversified routing. In one embodiment, a given voice applicationoccupies a separate channel, while a different voice applicationoccupies a different communications channel, while a data applicationoccupies yet a third communication channel.

In one embodiment, a network may treat upstream routing trafficdifferently from the downstream routing traffic. Thus, as data isreceived from a mobile node, the upstream routing from the mobile nodeto the network can be rerouted over a given separate channel while thedownstream routing from the network to the mobile node is routed on adifferent channel. In such an embodiment, the access point furtherfunctions as a switch. The access point is able to select specificallywhich of the available channels is utilized for routing traffic for agiven subscriber and for a given traffic type. In one embodiment, theintelligent access point's selection criterion may be based on bit ratecapacities of the given channels. In one embodiment, the intelligentaccess point has the capability of supporting multiple channels that canprovide differing qualities of service.

In one embodiment, ingress based predicted routing capability may beimplemented based on the combination of diversified routing andresilient adaptation network capabilities. In such an embodiment, theintelligent access points query certain mobile nodes in order tominimize latency and collision. Specifically, the controller may electto have a given channel of the intelligent access point enforce aningress based traffic policy control. In such an embodiment, thecontroller may elect to have specific mobile nodes to join thepredictive channel based on the QoS requirements of the devices and thenetwork wide capacity. Once the criteria is met, the controller selectsthe forwarding or routing policy and the information is distributed tothe intelligent components within the network. In such an embodiment,the intelligent controller is able to predict the timing requirements ofthe authorized nodes based on the QoS requirements and the queriedinformation from the nodes. The controller may elect to disallow a givenmobile node due to violations of authorized traffic policy. Further, thecontroller may elect for a given intelligent component to participate inforwarding, routing, or relaying traffic within the predictive channel.However, it may not have the privileges to generate or terminate trafficto the predictive channel. In an alternative embodiment, a channel maybe a virtual channel, rather than a physical separate channel. Thus thecontroller elects to enforce traffic policy by simply denying nodes thatare not a member of the Ingress based predictive routing sub-network.

In one embodiment, dynamic security policies may be established based onindividual communication pathway used for a given transaction.Accordingly, the existing frequency band is utilized in a much moreconservative and predictable manner. In addition, multiple frequenciesmay be utilized to achieve better resource availability for one or moremobile devices. Furthermore, by using security characteristics based onthe individual, communication pathways helps mitigate any securitybreaches as only a given communication pathway is compromised and thecontroller may update the security characteristics from time to time.The communication pathways provide a more resilient network and greaterpermutations for securing the transactions.

In one embodiment, an intelligent access point functionality can bederived by attaching an access point to a fixed personal computer suchas a desktop computer or a workstation. One of the peripheral bussessuch as a universal serial bus (USB) or PCMCIA, etc., may be utilizedfor interconnecting the access point to the fixed PC. It is advantageousin that the fixed PC generally already had access to the wired networkand the use of the access point enables it to serve as an intelligentcomponent within the wireless network as well. In one embodiment, thefixed PC is configured to provide bridging services for mobile nodes tointerconnect to the wired network, thereby reducing the need forinstalling dedicated standalone access points within the network. Thefixed PC in cooperation with the access point can provide thefunctionality of an intelligent access point by utilizing the fixedpathways within the fixed PC to interconnect the mobile nodes to thelocal area network. Further, it is advantageous when the fixedconnectivity pathway experiences degradation in service, the fixed PCutilizes the wireless pathway using the attached access point and gainsaccess to the networking resources through the wireless network.

In one embodiment, virtual mobile nodes may be implemented, where anintelligent mobile node module can be attached to a fixed PC, ratherthan a mobile device such as a laptop, by utilizing one or moreperipheral busses such as a USB or PCMCIA, etc.

In one embodiment, a local controller may cooperate with one or moreadditional controllers across the network. In one embodiment, theintelligent components connected within the network communicate with thelocal controller. The local controller in-turn communicates with otherintelligent controller(s), to access a network wide-information databaseto provide a comprehensive network wide intelligent policy for commandand control decisions. The local controller may elect to rely on one ormore of one or more controllers to analyze and provide the requiredinformation for the intelligent components within its local scope.Alternatively the local controller may elect to simply utilize theinformation from other controllers to make a more intelligent localcommand and control decision.

In one embodiment, the local controller may maintain network wideparameter information within the local controller. In such anembodiment, if communication connectivity is lost between the localcontroller and other controllers, the local controller can approximatebehavior of these controllers based on the previous informationcollected. The local controller is then able to utilize the approximatedvalues to provide a best effort system wide approximation for the localintelligent components. Once the communication link with theinaccessible controller or controllers is re-established the localcontroller may then revert to a multiple controller model.

In one embodiment, the controllers may cooperate with other controllersin providing network services. The controllers may elect to cooperate inestablishing policy controls such as stream bit rates, quality ofservice, and traffic class, among others. A highly scalable distributednetwork is provided, which is capable of enabling advanced services at anetwork wide scope while the policy enforcement takes place at a localscope.

In one embodiment, an intelligent controller that is logicallyco-located with other intelligent access points or intelligent mobilenodes is resident in a physically segregated network. Such a segregatednetwork may be interconnected to the local intelligent components byutilizing a connection across the Internet or otherwise by utilizing aprivate connection. In an alternative embodiment, intelligent accesspoints communicate with a controller that is resident at an offsitenetwork. The controller queries the required intelligent components inorder to make intelligent decision regarding one or more parameters,such as, frequency, power and service authorization. In an alternativeembodiment, the required components receive command and controlinformation from the offsite controller across the Internet in a securefashion to be able to provide a coherent optimized wireless network. Itis advantageous in that a single controller may be utilized in a remotefashion to control a wide span of optimized wireless networks.Furthermore, it is further advantageous in case of a failure of thelocal intelligent controller wherein the remote controller can cooperatewith the local intelligent components to continue to provide optimizedwireless services.

In one embodiment, one or more intelligent network controllers mayinterconnect and cooperate together to form a highly scalable wirelessnetwork. In one embodiment, the intelligent controllers can communicatewith other intelligent controllers. The intelligent controllers can beeither in a single co-located central facility, where multiplecontrollers can be required due to computational requirements of thenetwork. Alternatively, the intelligent controllers may be locatedseparately and interconnected over the Internet or over a privateinterconnection network. The controllers may either act as dedicatedsub-network resources, or cooperate with each other and provide anetwork wide resource, or a combination of the two.

In one embodiment, one or more intelligent components cooperate toprovide the virtual distributed controller functionality. In such anembodiment, the controller functionality is not centralized within asingle chassis. Rather, the functionality is distributed amongst theintelligent access points or intelligent mobile nodes. In certainembodiments, a single intelligent component may be elected to providethe controller functionality for other intelligent components. In analternative embodiment, each intelligent component may be elected toprovide the controller functionality required for the benefit ofdownstream intelligent controllers, such as an access point providingthe intelligent controller functionality to one or more downstreamintelligent mobile nodes.

In a virtual distributed controller embodiment, the individual mobilenodes making a communication link analogous to an intelligentcontroller. However, the request is rather served by the elected virtualdistributed controller rather than a single physical controller. Thesystem may interpret the destination of a given controller based on theoriginating nodes identity. Thus, a given mobile node making a requestto a controller would in fact be interpreted differently than adifferent mobile node making the same request. The virtual controller iscomposed of one or more intelligent components and thus a given requestis processed by the appropriate virtual component.

In traditional networks, as new nodes enter the domain of the existingwireless network, they act as resource sinks in that they requirenetwork service resources from the existing wireless network such asrouting, forwarding and management. The virtual distributed controlleris advantageous in that the new nodes entering the wireless networkdomain also provide additional resources to the wireless network, suchas computational resources and switching resources, and the ability tosupport network services such as routing, forwarding and management. Theuse of forwarding with quality and class of service policies furtherprovides the network with additional routes to be able to provide therequired service for the nodes within its domain. The virtualdistributed controller functionality specifically deals with thedistributing the management aspect of the wireless network.

In one embodiment, the mobile nodes have the capability to switchingfrom one wireless channel to another wireless channel in a real-timemanner based on one or more factors. Generally, the system controllermay elect to use certain channels for certain types of transactions.Thus, voice traffic may receive a lower bandwidth channel with lowinterference, while data channels may be allocated on a higher bandwidthbut worse interference characteristics. A channel may allocated based onthe transaction in real-time. Thus, a controller may elect to allocateone channel for a given class of service for a given mobile node whileallocating a different channel for a different class of service from thesame given mobile node.

In one embodiment, the controller utilizes network transactions inoptimizing the anticipated behavior of the network and to optimallyselect the switched real-time channel allocation behavior. Thecontroller utilizes previous transactional history to aid in optimizingthe anticipated behavior of the network.

In one embodiment, simultaneous real-time channel allocation may besupported. A given intelligent component may utilize one channel for onetransaction, and as the need arises for another simultaneoustransaction, the intelligent component may request the use of anotherchannel from the intelligent controller. Based on the configuration ofthe intelligent controller and the service requirements of theintelligent component, the controller may elect to direct theintelligent component to use another channel simultaneously for the newtransaction. Based on the channels available and other factors theintelligent component may further elect to use channels as the needarises.

In one embodiment, the intelligent access points and intelligent mobilenodes have capability of simultaneously establishing communications withother intelligent access points and other intelligent mobile nodes.These channels may be used by the intelligent controller as a generalpool of network resources.

In certain embodiments, transactions are analyzed based on therequirements for service class, QoS, class of service, originating node,terminating node, etc., to classify the historical transactional stateof the wireless network. In one embodiment, the resultant information isanalyzed to provide a forecasted state of the network. In oneembodiment, intelligent optimization is performed based on theforecasted state of the network rather than the immediate present stateof the network. A transaction may be analyzed on a packet-by-packetbasis. Alternatively, a set of packets related to a specific connectionmay be analyzed, such as a voice call, and treating it as a singletransaction with a associated persistence.

In certain embodiments, non-active nodes cooperate with the intelligentcomponents in accumulating transactional information regarding thenetwork. It is advantageous in that the information may be collected bythe intelligent components, such as intelligent mobile nodes,intelligent access points and intelligent controllers to identify andtrack down wireless nodes originating the transaction. Such anembodiment can further be utilized in tracking down rogue wireless nodesin a dynamic manner. Furthermore, accumulated physical characteristicsdata can be used to help triangulate the source of the transmittingstation.

Exemplary Wireless Networks

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary real-time scalablewireless switching network according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 1, the exemplary system includes a number ofcomponents that are either physically co-located or physicallysegregated based upon a specific configuration. A typical networkincludes a central local area network (100) composed of the components.The local area network (LAN) (100) includes network components such asmultiple fixed personal computers (140), multiple fixed personalcomputers with other peripherals attached (130), and a system router orfirewall (180). The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 requires that thepersonal computer (120) and other components have the capability ofaccessing various other resources across the LAN 100. In certainexemplary networks some components require accessing offsite networkcomponents across a router or a firewall (180), across an Internet(190), to an offsite network (200). FIG. 1 further illustrates variousroaming mobile nodes such as MN1 (270) and MN2 (280) within theexemplary network.

In one embodiment, multiple mobile nodes communicate with access point(160), which in turn, through either fixed pathways or wireless pathways(210), communicates to the local area network (100). In one embodiment,a wireless network interface module (NIM) (140) is added that allows afixed personal computer to communicate within a wireless network. Inaddition, access point nodes can be added to a fixed personal computer(130), which forms a fixed PC access point that enables a fixed personalcomputer access point to operate in cooperation with a wireline network(135).

In one embodiment, a system controller (150) is connected to the networktopology through pathway 155 to communicate with the mobile nodes MN1(270), mobile node MN2 (280), intelligent access points AP1 (160), fixedpersonal computer with access point (130), fixed personal computer withNIM (140) and other components within the wireless network and the LAN(100). One or more of these components may communicate with thecontroller and the controller may query the required components to makeintelligent decision regarding one or more parameters such as,frequency, power, and service authorization, among others.

Further, the controller can reside at an offsite network (100) acrossthe Internet (190). In an alternative embodiment, the intelligent accesspoint 160 communicates with the controller that is resident at anoffsite network 200. The offsite alternative controller queries therequired components (270,280,160,130, and 140) to make intelligentdecisions regarding the parameters such as, frequency, power and serviceauthorization. In such an alternative embodiment of FIG. 1, the requiredcomponents receive command and control information from the offsitecontroller across the Internet (190) in a secure fashion to provide acoherent optimized wireless network.

FIG. 1 further illustrates the ability to segregate the control planeand the data plane. In one embodiment; a mechanism is provided forsegregating a control and command plane from the actual traffic planewithin the scalable wireless network. In an embodiment, the accesspoints AP1 (160), Fixed PC AP (130) may cooperate with the networkinterface modules MN1 (270), Fixed PC NIM (140) and MN2 (280) within thewireless network to accumulate and analyze data and traffic patterns andassemble this information on behalf of the controller (150). Thecontroller (150) may query the required components (270, 280, 160, 130,140) to make intelligent decisions regarding one or more parameters suchas, frequency, power, and service authorization, among others. In suchan alternative embodiment, the queried components would be requested toaccumulate and analyze such data and then be requested to forward eitherthe raw data, the results, or both to a requesting controller. Thecontroller may be either collocated with the queried components, or itmay be physically segregated from them. The queried information may thenbe utilized by the controller in making intelligent decisions regardingparameters such as frequencies, power and the other characteristics ofthe wireless network. Such an embodiment is advantageous in that thescalable wireless switching network is able to provide optimized networkwide policy management and further provide advanced services withsuperior quality and class of service.

The advantageous nature of command and data plane segregation ofembodiments of the present invention is evident when analyzing thebehavior of the network during a forwarding operation. If mobile nodeMN1 (270) is requesting that information be transferred to mobile nodeMN2 (280) and the intelligent access point AP1 (160) would be requiredto forward the packet from MN1 to MN2. In a converged control and dataplane scenario once the AP initiates the transfer of the informationfrom MN1 to MN2, any additional mobile nodes within the range of AP1 areeffectively stalled. If one of the other mobile nodes has higherpriority information to be forwarded to MN2 it has no way ofcommunicating this requirement to the access point. In a multi-channelembodiment, the mobile node with a higher priority transaction makes arequest with the intelligent access point over the control and commandchannel. Once the request is received by the intelligent access pointAP1 (160) it can interrogate the state of the present transfer and makean intelligent decision regarding if the present transaction needs to beterminated, or if it should be completed before initiating the newhigher priority traffic. Traditional approaches rely on the IP header ofa given packet to communicate the characteristics of the packet to betransferred. Unfortunately such an approach can only operate in apresent state. In one embodiment, a command and control plane isutilized to communicate information with forwarding nodes regarding thestate of the queues of packets that have not been received by theforwarding nodes yet. The forwarding nodes are able to utilizeanticipated demands from the plurality of mobile nodes to ascertain thatthe required performance of the network will be met. In general, thecommand and control plane focus on transactions related to themanagement and control of the network, such as sharing routinginformation, traffic classification, scheduling, buffer management,signaling, admission control, service level agreements, provisioning andtraffic engineering. The data traffic plane in comparison focus ontransactions related to the forwarding of the actual packets from onenode to another.

The exemplary network of FIG. 1 further illustrates the topology whereinparameter values provided to the access point (160) and the networkinterface modules within the mobile nodes MN1 (270) and MN2 (280) may bestored centrally within a system controller (150). In an alternativeembodiment the parameter values may be provided to the intelligentdevices such as the access point (160) or the mobile nodes MN1 (270) orMN2 (280) for local storage. An embodiment of the present inventionfurther incorporates the ways for the controller (150) to store andmaintain the parameters in a distributed manner within the intelligentcomponents to minimize command and control traffic from the intelligentcomponents for subsequent cycles.

In one embodiment, multiple links can be established between an accesspoint (160) and a given mobile node MN1 (270). The multi-linkconnectivity is used to segregate the control plane from the trafficdata plane. In such an embodiment, the system transmits the command andcontrol information on one given link, namely channel 1, while the datafrom the mobile node can be transmitted on a separate link, namelychannel 2. The intelligent access point (160) further has the capabilityfor utilizing yet another link, namely channel 3, for transmittingadditional data traffic. In such an exemplary network, the intelligentaccess point has the simultaneous use of three channels namely channel1, channel 2, and channel 3.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary network with connectivity for thenetwork controller to poll the access point (160) or the mobile nodesMN1 (270) or MN2 (280) for local information on a recurring basis. Inone embodiment, the network controller utilizes the queried informationto implement a local adaptation model (LAM) to make intelligent policydecisions based on either a packet by packet basis or with finer or withcourser granularity. The LAM provides the ways for the controller (150)to maintain a network wide scope and distribute the parameter policyinformation to the respective intelligent components.

Furthermore, from the perspective of an intelligent component that haslost connectivity to the controller (150), a mechanism is provided forthe component to detect the connectivity loss and to begin operatingindependently and provide a seamless operating environment. Once theconnectivity is re-established, the intelligent component (160, 270, or280) reverts to cooperating with the controller to provide a networkwide LAM.

FIG. 1 further illustrates an embodiment to support the multiplecontroller model according to one embodiment of the present invention.The intelligent controller (150) may cooperate with other controllersthat may reside across the LAN (100). In one embodiment, certain subsetsof the intelligent components connected within the wireless networkcommunicate with the local controller. The local controller in-turncommunicates one or more controllers to access the information for amore comprehensive network wide intelligent policy command and controldecision.

The exemplary network of FIG. 1 illustrates the topology where theintelligent controller (150) may elect to operate the mobile node NIM(140) in a resilient adaptation model (RAM). In such an exemplary mode,the network interface module (NIM) (140) attached to the fixed PCreceives a communication from the intelligent controller (150), throughthe LAN (100), through the communication link (145) to operate in theRAM mode. In one embodiment, a network interface module (NIM) has theability of providing routing and forwarding services on behalf of itssuperior component such as an intelligent access point. The NIM furtherhas the capability to take over the functionality of the intelligentaccess point, such as AP1 (160) when so required by the local controller(150). Such an embodiment is advantageous in that it provides analternative way for providing network services in case of temporary orpermanent service outages.

In one embodiment, the local controller may elect to request a given NIM(140) to operate in the RAN mode while electing to request other mobilenodes MN1 (270) and MN2 (280) to operate in traditional intelligentmobile node modes. One exemplary advantage to operate in such a mode isto provide temporary local routing ways for communication to or frommobile nodes that have limited range.

In one embodiment, the capability of virtual routing is supported.Routes from source to destination are virtually allocated such that thepathways can be dynamically changed in an easy manner. The intelligentcomponents, such as mobile nodes and intelligent access points areorganized in a table that supports at least a single level ofindirection. Thus the address resolved by the incoming value for a givenpacket, simply fetches another new virtual final value. The firstvirtual value represents a source and destination packet wherein thevalue can be expediently changed by updating the new data value at the“address” of the indirect memory location. The value at the indirectionlocation represents a path wherein the value may be used in identifyingwhich route the packet must take. The reassignment of the virtual pathmakes it feasible to dynamically change the routing characteristics ofthe network in a convenient manner. In one embodiment, the intelligentcontroller assigns unique route numbers to the alternative routes for agiven source and destination pair. These routes are broadcast with thepacket or alternatively on a fixed scheduled manner to expedientlybroadcast the selected dynamic packet route.

In one embodiment, the communication paths 220 and 230 are alternatepathways and serve as the multi-path mechanism of the invention.Communication pathway 230 is established on a given channel or frequencywhile a different channel or frequency is utilized for communicationpathway 220. In such an embodiment, the multiple communication pathwaysprovide the ways for the network to use one of the communicationpathways as the primary communications channel, while using the othercommunication pathways as the secondary communications channel. Thenetwork uses either the primary or the secondary communication pathwaysinterchangeably. In one embodiment, the intelligent access point mayalternate between using communication path 220 and 230 from time totime.

In reference to FIG. 1, the LAN (100) includes Internet appliances,network servers, and personal computers (120), which interact with eachother utilizing the interconnections of the LAN (100). The personalcomputer (120) in FIG. 1 represents the such network devices within atypical local area network (100). Personal computer (120) interconnectsto the LAN (100) through a physical pathway 125 typically either agigabit Ethernet or 100-base Ethernet in traditional wired networks.

In one embodiment, an access point is attached to a fixed PC (130) byutilizing a bus such as a Universal Serial Bus PCMCIA, for example. Inone embodiment, the fixed PC (130) is able to access both the wirednetwork, as well as the wireless network. The fixed PC (130) isconfigured to provide bridging services for mobile nodes to interconnectto the wired network, thus reducing the need for installing dedicatedaccess points within the network.

In one embodiment, an intelligent mobile node module is attached to afixed PC (140) by utilizing one of a peripheral bus such as a UniversalSerial Bus or PCMCIA, for example.

FIG. 1 further illustrates the connectivity of the LAN (100) to theInternet community and the use of a router or firewall mechanism (180)for providing various security and network services. In one embodiment,a mechanism is provided for an offsite network (200) to beinterconnected to the LAN (100) through the interconnection pathway(195), through the interconnection pathway (185), through the router andfirewall (180), and finally through the interconnection pathway (105).

In an alternative embodiment, an intelligent controller (150) isconnected to the local area network (100) through an interconnectionpathway 155. The intelligent controller (150) may be either physicallyco-located with the local area network (100) or it may be located withinthe offsite network (200). The intelligent controller (150) provides theways for optimizing wireless network parameters attached to the LAN(100) while the intelligent controller (150) is located within anoffsite network (200). In one embodiment, a mechanism is provided toselect the update rate for parameters and the traffic update reportconsistent with the available bandwidth. The exemplary network of FIG. 1illustrates the interconnection of the multiple intelligent controllers.The intelligent controller (150) cooperates together other intelligentcontrollers that may be interconnected to the intelligent controllereither at the local area network or else across the Internet (190) at anoffsite network (200) through the interconnection pathway (195).

FIG. 2 illustrates a typical LAN (100) connected to the Internet (190).FIG. 2 provides further details illustrating the wireless access pointAP1 (160) and mobile nodes MN 1 (270) and MN 2 (280) and some of thefunctionality of these components. In one embodiment, the LAN and thewireless network of FIG. 2 are to interconnect the fixed PCs (120) andthe mobile nodes (270 and 280) to each other, to the network resourcessuch as printers and servers and to the Internet (190). Theinterconnection is generally provided using routers and firewalls (180)to provide security and other network services and to provide a way toprovide access to an offsite network (200) across the Internet (190).

In one embodiment, FIG. 2 outlines a wireless network composed ofintelligent access point AP1 (160) and mobile nodes MN1 (270) and MN2(280). FIG. 2 illustrates some of the additional functionality of thescalable wireless switching network.

In one embodiment, MN2 280 is a mobile network interface module nodeincludes a network interface module that is installed in a mobile devicesuch as a laptop (250) and is interconnected to the laptop through aperipheral bus such as a PCMCIA interface.

In one embodiment, a request made by the user at laptop 2 (250) will beprovided to mobile node MN2 (280). MN2 (280) in-turn would need torequest access to network resources by forwarding a request to thewireless access point AP1 (160) for access to the wireless network. Inorder to provide a highly reliable and a multi-service network, accessto the LAN (100), wireless network link (230), and other networkresources must be available in a predictable manner. In the case wheremobile node MN2 (280) has to negotiate across link 230 to reach accesspoint AP1 (160) to request use of the wireless link 230 resources, thearbitration of the link 230 becomes a critical factor. In a traditionalwireless network, this is sometimes done using a carrier sense multipleaccess with collision avoidance mechanism (CSMA/CA). Unfortunately, sucha mechanism is disadvantaged in that the mobile node making such arequest is unaware of the network wide quality of service requirementsand may arbitrarily capture the wireless link 230 away from higherpriority traffic. Such a condition would cause a delay in releasing thebus back to the higher priority mobile node and subsequently the highQoS performance would deteriorate.

In one embodiment, a mechanism is provided for reducing the impact ofsuch a bus arbitration request by providing selectable physicalparameters such as frequency selection, band selection, and/or powerselection. In a further embodiment, a mechanism is provided for commandand control segregation from data traffic segregation.

At times when service is required by MN2, according to one embodiment,generally MN2 is aware of its own QoS requirements of the service beingrequested. By utilizing an appropriate selection from the physicalcharacteristics such as frequency selection, bandwidth selection, bandselection and power selection, MN2 has a better perspective to negotiatea request. In one embodiment, intelligent nodes utilize one or morechannels to communicate with the access point AP1 (160) and requestaccess to the LAN (100). The intelligent access point interprets therequest for media access into a class of service category. Theinnovative methodology within embodiments of the present inventionutilizes real-time information to optimize the request for media access.The real-time media access methodology is advantageous in itscharacteristic that only lower or equivalent classes of service areaffected by the media access request, while the higher classes ofservice being served by the intelligent access point remain unaffected.

In one embodiment, the classes of service access can be segregated basedon packet traffic types. Alternatively, the classes of service accesscan be segregated based on bandwidth requirements. Furthermore, theintelligent mobile node shadows the access point AP1 (160) and monitorsthe media grants to other mobile nodes within the network. In aparticular embodiment, the intelligent mobile node maintains a table oftraffic types and classes of service. The intelligent mobile nodeinspects such a table and can more intelligently determine what accesspolicy to utilize to gain access to the wireless network. In general,MN2 (280) utilizes dynamic and changing network conditions to requestaccess to the network with awareness of class and quality of service ofexisting traffic.

The intelligent mobile node 2 MN2 (280) establishes a control link withthe access point AP1 (160) to request communication services. Once theaccess point AP1 (160) has received the request from MN2, the accesspoint inspects the current condition of the network and may elect to askMN2 to delay the request for a specific period of time. Once theintelligent mobile node 2 MN2 (280) is granted access to the wirelessnetwork, the originating laptop 2 is informed. In one embodiment laptop2 completes establishing the communication link, and information beginsto flow across the PCMCIA interface (250) of laptop 2, into intelligentmobile node MN2 (280) and into the access point AP1 (160). Furthermore,AP1(160) forwards the information to the local area network (100).

In certain embodiments, the network incorporates the communicationinformation to go across routers and switches which route theinformation as required to reach the termination nodes such as computersPC (120) interconnected to the LAN (100), fixed PC (135) or the fixedPCs with NIM (140) and (130) respectively. The exemplary network of FIG.2 outlines a topology wherein multiple mobile node parameters areoptimized to apply the required quality and class of service.

The intelligent access point AP1 (160) communicates with a multiplemobile nodes to provide network based resources, such as routing,switching, virtual private networking, among others. In one embodiment,the intelligent access point AP1 (160) provides the serviceindependently or by utilizing other resources cross the LAN (100). Themobile nodes MN1 (270) and MN2 (280) provide a simple bridgingfunctionality between the laptop nodes laptop1 and laptop2 to theintelligent access point AP1 (160).

The intelligent mobile nodes have the scope of requirements for theirown services, namely the quality and class of service requirementscertain application requested by the laptop or network applianceattached to the given mobile node. The mobile nodes primarily passthrough information from one port to another, such as the PCMCIAinterface (250) to the wireless link (230). The intelligent accesspoints further have the scope of requirements for a multiple mobilenodes. The intelligent access point functionality provides theforwarding and routing service as well, but additionally provides policycontrol to implement and to enforce subscription level agreements.Furthermore the intelligent access points have the capability todifferentiate between multiple traffic sources and provide thefunctionality on the appropriate basis. In one embodiment, theintelligent access point provides aggregation functionality in additionto controlling the parameters of the communication media. Theintelligent access point is to control the method of communicationbetween the mobile nodes and the LAN (100) or to other mobile nodes.

FIG. 2 further illustrates the topology wherein the intelligent accesspoint AP1 (160) may direct intelligent mobile nodes to communicate in anad-hoc mode on a permanent, temporary, or on a transactional basis. Inone embodiment, the intelligent access point AP1 (160) directs mobilenode MN2 (280) to directly communicate information with mobile node MN1(270) based on a class of service, among others.

According to one embodiment, the operations of the intelligent accesspoint (AP1) include multiple operational modes. The intelligent accesspoints may be configured to operate in either an infrastructure mode, inan ad-hoc mode, or on a semi-hoc mode. The selection of the operationalmodes can be elected by the intelligent controller based on one or morenetwork wide conditions such as traffic classes of the egress or ingresstraffic to the intelligent access point, traffic type such as voice orvideo traffic, traffic congestion at AP1, total ingress or egresstraffic requirements at the intelligent access point (AP1), amongothers. In such an exemplary network, if two mobile nodes requirecommunication with each other and are within each other's range ofoperation, the semi-hoc model provides the ways to establishment theconnectivity between the mobile nodes on a ad-hoc basis. Furthermore,when these mobile nodes are no longer within each other's range ofcommunication, the semi-hoc model provides a seamless transition to aninfrastructure mode of operation. During a semi-hoc model of operation,a given mobile node can be simultaneously operating in an ad-hoc fashionwith a given mobile node while operating in an infrastructure fashionwith another mobile node. FIG. 2 further provides the capability wheremultiple mobile nodes cooperate to provide dynamic service betweenmobile nodes on a connection basis.

In one embodiment, the intelligent mobile nodes and the intelligentaccess points provide semi-hoc service based on the parameters, such astraffic class, illustratively voice calls, video conferencing, or anyother class of service. In one embodiment, intelligent access point AP1(160) may receive a request from intelligent mobile node MN2 (280) thatthe laptop2 requires communication with laptop1. In such a scenario, AP1(160) may direct intelligent mobile node MN1 (170) to switch over to agiven channel and allocate the resources for MN1 to directly communicatewith MN2. The segregated control plane mechanism allows connectioncommands to be originated by either the local intelligent access pointor by the intelligent controller within the network. In such anillustrative scenario, the service connection itself will then takeplace over the wireless interface directly rather than going through thelocal area network or the intelligent access point.

Exemplary Access Point

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary intelligent accesspoint AP1 (160) according to one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3A,specific information and parameters are stored locally within theintelligent access point. The exemplary network of FIG. 3A outlines someof the usages of both network service awareness, such as routing (163),and of physical awareness, such as channel selection (161) and powerselection (162) for intelligent network management. More generally, theintelligent access point AP1 may store, maintain and collect networkrelated information from either the interconnected devices, and/or fromtraffic carried by the intelligent access point (AP1). In oneembodiment, the intelligent access point AP1 (160) may store therequired parameters locally within parameter memory (164). The parametermemory uses semiconductor memory such as volatile, non-volatile, orcached memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamicrandom access memory (DRAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, amongother, or a combination of these. Alternatively, the parameter memorymay use file memory such as disk storage or flash drives among others.The intelligent access point AP1 (160) retrieves the network andphysical parameters from the parameter memory (164) upon power-up or areset condition and may initiate operation in a default mode.Alternatively, the intelligent access point AP1 (160) may request theparameters be updated from an intelligent controller (150) across theLAN or from an intelligent controller from an offsite network (200)across the Internet (190) and through the LAN (100).

The intelligent access point AP1 includes modules for the control andoperation of the unit including the CPU (174), the on-chip ICache (175),the on-chip DCache (176), the secondary ICache (177), the secondaryDCache (178), the program EEPROM (179), the program RAM (180), the resetmodule (181) and the power supply module (182). AP1 (160) furtherincludes of wired networking interface modules USB/Ethernet Interface(188) and PCMCIA Interface (189). AP1 (160) further includes of storagemodules for packet storage (184) and system storage (183) that furtherinclude storage for channel selection (161), power selection (162),routing (163) and parameter memory (164). The interconnection of thecontrol and operation modules, the wired networking interface modules,and the storage modules occurs across a system bus such as the PCIinterface of the access point AP1. The system bus is further connectedto the control logic field programmable gate array (FPGA) (187). Thecontrol logic FPGA is in-turn connected to a custom packet bus used forinterconnecting the storage modules and the packet processing moduleswithin the access point AP1. The packet processing modules include theflow classifier (190), the packet buffer (191), the flow extracter(192), multiple stream buffer queues (193), multiple radio MAC & linklayers (194), multiple radio interface physical layers (195), multipletransceiver analog circuitry, and multiple antennas (197, 198). Thesignals from the access point AP1 (160) are transmitted across wirelesslinks 220 and 230 using one or more wireless transmission and receptionprotocols such as WiFi, WiMax, 3G cellular, among others.

The operation of the access point AP1 (160) is controlled by the centralprocessing unit, CPU (174). AP1 has a power supply module that isresponsible to deliver the required voltages and power sequencing to themodule within AP1 (160). Upon powering up or upon software reset thereset module (181) initiates a reset sequence to bring the AP1 into aknown state. The CPU (174) cooperates with the reset module (181) toinitiate a sequence of commands to bring the access point AP1 (160) intoa known state. The CPU further comprises of on-chip instruction cache(ICache) (175) and on-chip data cache (DCache) (176). The on-chipinstruction and data cache are present within the CPU to help improvethe timing delay in fetching data from the storage modules such as theprogram EEPROM (179), program RAM (180), packet storage (184), andsystem storage (183). The access point AP1 (160) further comprises of aoff-chip secondary instruction cache, secondary ICache (177), andoff-chip secondary data cache, secondary DCache (178). The secondarycache modules 177 and 178 further cooperate with the on-chip ICache(175) and onchip DCache (176) in improving instruction and data fetchperformance of the CPU (174).

The intelligent access point AP1 (160) further comprises of networkinterfacing modules USB/Ethernet interface (188) and PCMCIA interface.The networking interfacing modules enable the access point tointerconnect within a LAN (100) via wired networking pathway 210. In oneembodiment, the access point may interconnect with a LAN (100) usingEthernet interfacing. In such a configuration, the access pointinterconnect with routers, switches, and hubs that comprise the LAN toget access to additional resources within the LAN such as othercomputers, printers, and servers. Once a mobile node interconnects tothe access point AP1 via wireless pathways 230 and 220, these mobilenodes can further have access to the plurality of network resourcesinterconnected to the access point AP1.

The packet processing modules cooperate with the CPU (174) across thecontrol logic FPGA (187) in processing the priority and performance ofthe communication across the wireless pathways 230 and 220. Theoperation of the packet processing module is understood when followingthe flow of a packet that is received from one wireless interface forexample 230 and then processed and forwarded to another wireless link220. In such an exemplary transaction, the incoming signal is receivedat the antenna 197 and the signal is forwarded to the transceiver analogcircuitry (196). The transceiver analog circuitry includes one or morecomponents to process the signal so that it is capable of interfacing tothe radio interface physical layer (195). The function of the radiointerface physical layer is to synchronize and frame up to the incomingsignal so that the information can be formatted in a manner to interfaceto the radio MAC and link layer (194). The radio MAC and link layer isprimarily responsible to format and extract the information so that theresulting information is transparently forwarded to the stream bufferqueue module (193) without regard to the details of the physical radiomechanisms used. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention theInternet protocol (IP) is used to provide a standardized interfacingmechanism between the radio MAC and link layer (194) and stream bufferqueue. Other mechanisms such as ATM or frame relay can also be utilizedfor such standardized interfacing. Once the information is queued withinthe stream buffer queue (193) CPU is notified through the use of thecustom packet bus (186) and the control logic FPGA (187). The CPUinterrogates the system storage to compute the action regarding thereceived packet by use of the channel selection (161), power selection(162), routing (163), and parameter memory (164). Once the CPU hasdetermined the course of the action as agreed upon with the intelligentcontroller, the CPU informs the flow extraction module 192. The flowextraction module forward the information and the queue over to thepacket buffer 191 based on the required action. The flow extractormodule further has the ways to bypass the packet buffer (191) anddirectly reschedule the packet to be retransmitted using the radio MACand link layer. This is especially advantageous where cut-throughforwarding is requested by the intelligent controller. The flowextractor is able to initiate the forwarding action without the need forwaiting to complete the reception of initial packet. Based on the radioprotocol implemented within the radio MAC and link layers (194) and theradio interface physical layers (195), the flow extraction modulecooperates with the CPU to minimize the latency between receiving thepacket and forwarding the received packet.

Alternatively, the flow extractor module may elect to forward the packetto the packet buffer (191) wherein the packet may be temporarily storedfor later forwarding scheduling. The packet buffer (191) cooperates withthe flow classifier module (190) to organize and schedule theinterrogation of the newly received packet in cooperation of therequirements of the pool of packets within the packet buffer. The flowclassifier and the CPU cooperate to help schedule the packet inspectionand transmission and inform the flow extractor to schedule as requiredby the quality of service (QOS) and other traffic related requirementsrequested by the controller.

In another exemplary packet flow, the packet may be designated fortransmission utilizing the Ethernet interface (188). In such anembodiment, the packet would be classified by the flow classifier (190)and buffered at the packet buffer (191) and would be forwarded by theflow extractor (192) through the control logic FPGA (187) to theEthernet interface (188). In general, the packet processing modulescooperate with the CPU and the intelligent controller through the use ofthe parameter memory (164) and the plurality of selection cretiria forrouting, channel selection and power selection in providing networkservices.

The intelligent access point AP1 (160) provides network services for theintelligent mobile nodes such as routing, bridging, aggregating,forwarding, and virtual LAN, among others. Furthermore, the exemplarynetwork of FIG. 3A illustrates the local parameter storage of thephysical and network parameter at the intelligent access point AP1. Theparameters stored within the parameter memory include parameters withlocal scope as well as network wide scope based on the configuration ofthe network, the network controller, the access points, and the mobilenodes. One of the advantages of the local storage is that theintelligent access point can make decisions regarding local parameterseven in absence of a connection to the network. Furthermore, the effectof these changes takes place more efficiently as it is not subject toany further delays within the local area network. In an exemplarynetwork with an intelligent controller (150) that is offsite thisadvantage is further highlighted, as the delays associated across theInternet can be even more significant. Such an embodiment is furtheradvantageous in that local intercommunication can continue even in caseof a complete failure to the intelligent controller. Once networkconnectivity is re-established, the intelligent access point AP1 (160)re-establishes contact with the intelligent controller, and anyaccumulated data, statistics, and other information is communicatedbetween the intelligent controller (150) and the intelligent accesspoint AP1 (160). Subsequently, the intelligent access point is againable to provide optimized service for the mobile nodes with a networkwide scope, rather than just with a local scope.

In one embodiment, the intelligent components are interconnected in ahierarchical manner, where operation of the intelligent mobile nodes cancontinue even in case of a loss of communication across the primarycommunication channel. The storage of local physical and networkparameters within the parameter memory (164) of the intelligent accesspoint AP1 (160), coupled with the cooperation from the intelligentmobile nodes the present invention provides a more scalable, resilientand robust wireless network.

Exemplary Mobile Nodes

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary mobile nodeaccording to one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3B, specific informationand parameters are stored locally within the intelligent mobile node.The intelligent mobile MN1 (270) may store, maintain and collect networkrelated information from either the interconnected devices, and/or fromtraffic carried by the intelligent mobile node MN1 (270). Theintelligent mobile node MN1 (270) may store the required parameterslocally within parameter memory (274). The parameter memory may usesemiconductor memory or file memory, among others, as outlined in FIG.3A above. The intelligent mobile node MN1 (270) retrieves the networkand physical parameters from the parameter memory (274) upon power-up ora reset condition and may initiate operation in a default mode.Alternatively, the intelligent mobile node MN1 (270) may request theparameters be updated from an intelligent access point AP1 (160),intelligent controller (150) across the LAN or from an intelligentcontroller from an offsite network (200) across the Internet (190) andthrough the LAN (100).

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the difference in the exemplary architecture of themobile node MN1 from that of the intelligent access point AP1 is thatthe mobile node MN1 does not require a dedicate CPU and the relatedmodules. The mobile node MN1 (270) relies on the host computer's CPU tocarry out the required processing by installing a small sequence ofcommands within the host computer's storage referred to as a devicedriver code.

Referring to FIG. 3B, intelligent mobile node MN1 includes multiplemodules for the control and operation of the unit including the resetmodule (181) and the power supply module (199). MN1 (270) furtherincludes wired networking interface modules USB/Ethernet Interface (188)and PCMCIA Interface (189). MN1 (270) further includes of storagemodules for packet storage (184) and system storage (183) that furtherinclude storage for channel selection (271), power selection (272), andparameter memory (274). The interconnection of the control and operationmodules, the wired networking interface modules, and the storage modulesoccurs across a system bus such as the PCI interface of the mobile nodeMN1 (270). The system bus is further connected to the control logic FPGA(187). The control logic FPGA is in-turn connected to a custom packetbus used for interconnecting the storage modules and the packetprocessing modules within the mobile node MN1. The packet processingmodules include of the flow classifier (190), the packet buffer (191),the flow extractor (192), the stream buffer queues (193), the radio MAC& link layers (194), a radio interface physical layers (195), thetransceiver analog circuitry, and the antennas (197, 198). The pluralityof signals from the mobile node MN1 (270) are transmitted across thewireless link 220 using one or more wireless transmission and receptionprotocols such as WiFi, WiMax, 3G cellular, among others.

The operation of the mobile node MN1 (270) is controlled by the hostcomputer across the peripheral interface such as the PCMCIA interface(189), or the USB interface (188) across the wired interface 240. In oneembodiment of the invention, the mobile node MN1 is a small plug inadapter card that can be installed in the PCMCIA slot within a laptopcomputer. MN1 has a power supply module that is responsible to deliverthe required voltages and power sequencing to one or more modules withinthe MN1 (270). Upon powering up, upon software or hardware reset fromthe host computer the reset module (181) initiates a reset sequence tobring the MN1 into a known initial state. The host computer cooperateswith the reset module (181) to initiate a sequence of commands to bringthe mobile node MN1(270) into a known state. The mobile node further hasa programmable sequence of commands in the form of a device driver thatare resident within the host computers' storage memory such as RAM orfile storage memory such as an IDE hard drive. This sequence of controlcode is executed by the host computer to cooperate with the moduleswithin the mobile node MN1 (270) to control the operation of the moduleswithin MN1.

The packet processing modules within the mobile node MN1 (270) cooperatewith the host computer across the control logic FPGA (187) in processingthe priority and performance of the communication across the wirelesspathway 220. The operation of the packet processing module is understoodwhen following the flow of a packet that is received from one wirelessinterface for example one mobile node at the wireless link 220 and thenprocessed and forwarded to another mobile node across the wireless link220. In such an exemplary transaction, the incoming signal is receivedat the antenna 197 and the signal is forwarded to the transceiver analogcircuitry (196). The transceiver analog circuitry includes one or morecomponents to process the signal so that it is capable of interfacing tothe radio interface physical layer (195). The function of the radiointerface physical layer is to synchronize and frame up to the incomingsignal so that the information can be formatted in a manner to interfaceto the radio MAC and link layer (194). The radio MAC and link layer isresponsible to format and extract the information so that the resultinginformation is transparently forwarded to the stream buffer queue module(193) without regard to the details of the physical radio mechanismsused. In one embodiment, Internet protocol (IP) is used to provide astandardized interfacing mechanism between the radio MAC and link layer(194) and stream buffer queue. Other mechanisms such as ATM or framerelay can also be utilized for such standardized interfacing. Once theinformation is queued within the stream buffer queue (193), the hostcomputer's device driver code is notified through the use of the custompacket bus (186), the control logic FPGA (187) and the PCMCIA interfacemodule (189). The host computer's device driver code may interrogatesthe system storage to compute the action regarding the received packetby use of the channel selection (161), power selection (162), routing(163), and parameter memory (164). Once the host computers device drivercode has determined the course of the action as agreed upon with theintelligent controller, the host computer informs the flow extractionmodule 192. The flow extraction module forwards the information and thequeue over to the packet buffer 191 based on the required action. Theflow extractor module further has the ways to bypass the packet buffer(191) and directly reschedule the packet to be retransmitted using theradio MAC and link layer. This is especially advantageous within thepresent invention where cut-through forwarding is requested by theintelligent controller. The flow extractor further has the ways to beable to initiate the forwarding action without the need for waiting tocomplete the reception of initial packets. Based on the radio protocolimplemented within the radio MAC and link layers (194) and the radiointerface physical layers (195), the flow extraction module cooperateswith the host computers device driver code to minimize the latencybetween receiving the packet and forwarding the received packet.

Alternatively, the flow extractor module may elect to forward the packetto the packet buffer (191) wherein the packet may be temporarily storedfor later forwarding scheduling. The packet buffer (191) cooperates withthe flow classifier module (190) to organize and schedule theinterrogation of the newly received packet in cooperation of therequirements of the pool of packets within the packet buffer. The flowclassifier and the host computer's device driver code cooperate to helpschedule the packet inspection and transmission and inform the flowextractor to schedule as required by the QOS and other traffic relatedrequirements requested by the controller.

In another exemplary packet flow, the packet may be designated fortransmission utilizing the USB interface (188). In such an embodiment,the packet would be classified by the flow classifier (190) and bufferedat the packet buffer (191) and would be forwarded by the flow extractor(192) through the control logic FPGA (187) to the Ethernet interface(188). In general, the packet processing modules of the intelligentmobile node MN1 (270) cooperate with the host computer's device drivercode and the intelligent controller through the use of the parametermemory (164) and the plurality of selection cretiria for routing,channel selection and power selection in providing network services.

According to one embodiment, a hierarchical network provides the mobilenode MN1 (270) to continue operation even in case of a loss of access tothe intelligent access point AP1 (160), the primary communicationchannel. The storage of local physical and network parameters within theparameter memory (274) of the intelligent mobile node MN1(270), coupledwith the cooperation from other mobile nodes the present inventionprovides a more resilient and robust wireless network.

In addition to the advantages presented during power-up and reset, it isfurther advantaged during real-time loss of communication to theintelligent access point, such as channel interference. The mobile nodeMN1 (270), in cooperation with access point AP1 (160) and the controller(150) may modify the default settings for the secondary connectivitypath so that in the next similar episode the network is furtheroptimized. In one embodiment, the intelligent controller (150) and theintelligent access point AP1 (160) cooperate with the intelligent mobilenode MN1 (270) to finalize the default parameters used in theconditions, such as power-up, reset, or loss of communication. Thephysical parameters channel selection (271) and power selection (272)are among one of the parameters that may be stored, maintained andcollected at the scope of the intelligent mobile node MN1 (270).

Intelligent mobile node MN1 (270) utilizes a wireless link 220 as it isprimary communication path, and utilizes a PCMCIA interface (240) as itscommunication path with the terminating or originating communicationsnode.

Exemplary Packet Processing Policies

FIG. 4A is a flow diagram illustrating an optimization packet policyaccording to one embodiment. Exemplary process may be performed by aprocessing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic,etc.), software (such as is run on a dedicated machine), or acombination of both. In one embodiment, a highly optimized spectralefficiency is provided in order to meet the stringent requirements of ahighly scalable wireless network. In general transmission across ashared wireless media is susceptible to outside interference andchanging spectral characteristics. The statistics are maintainedregarding the historical efficiency of meeting the required servicelevel agreements. In addition, one or more databases are maintainedregarding the performance requirements of the packet flows anticipated.In one embodiment, a default database related to default parameters ofthe anticipated packets is maintained in order to meet the bestperformance for the network. The tables and databases are populated andmaintained as a management function and generally utilize best effortbackground processes to avoid interferring with the forwarding of datapackets. In general, the packets associated with the management andoperation of the intelligent components is termed control packets, whilethe action for forwarding packets not involved in control packets isclassified as data packets. In one embodiment, incoming packets areclassified as either data or control packets on the conditions. Anexemplary diagram of control packet algorithm is outlined in FIG. 4C andthroughout this document. The embodiments of the present inventionfurther provide the ability to treat all packets as data packets, totreat all packets as control packets, to first check for data packets orto first check for control packets in initiating classification of theincoming packets. The diagram of FIG. 4A illustrates a presumption ofcontrol packets and only known data packets optimally flow through toparticipate in the forwarding services provided by the exemplary networkover the data plane. Such a rigorous ingress based policy control isestablished to minimize the impact on the data flow within theintelligent components. Unknown packets eventually flow to the stateanalyze known packet type (849) in FIG. 4C to be classified as to thetype of packet and to then update the tables and classificationinformation.

The intelligent mobile node or intelligent access point cooperate withthe controller to provide the required packet transport and forwardingservices once the requirements information has been populated adequatelywithin its classification tables to initiate service. FIG. 4A includes acontrol packet algorithm (802) and a classifier algorithm (817). Thecontrol packet algorithm is illustrated in FIG. 4C, and the classifieralgorithm (817) is illustrated in FIG. 4B in more detail, according tocertain embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4A, at the top of the diagram a new packet is receivedby the module (800). Once the packet is received adequately forclassification, the partial packet or the completed packet is forwardedto the module data packet (801). This module interrogates the packetinformation to determine if this is a known data packet. A variety ofconsideration are utilized in determining if a packet is a data packetincluding known routing tables, MPLS (multiprotocal label switching)tags, known IP addresses, known traffic types and port numbers, or ifany processing tags within the IP header such as high priority tag canbe used for classification. If the packet is not deemed to be known datapacket, the exemplary flow of FIG. 4A assumes the packet is a controlpacket and forwards the control of the packet to the control packetalgorithm (802), which will be covered in more detail in the discussionregarding FIG. 4C. If the packet is deemed to be a data packet, the nexttask for the exemplary diagram of FIG. 4A is to establish theappropriate service requirements in regard to bitrate, latency, andjitter based on the service level agreements of the source and thedestination nodes. For simplicity of illustration the flow of FIG. 4Aoutlines a fixed priority based flow in that attributes to determinebitrate, latency and jitter are checked sequentially. However theclassification priorities can be interrogated simultaneously and theorder of priority checking can be rearranged in order to provide theleast interrogation time for the highest priority packets.

In FIG. 4A, if the packet is deemed to be a data packet the packet isforwarded to determine if the packet contains a known tag, group orsource (803). The network support advanced routing protocols such asMPLS wherein a shim header is inserted ahead of the IP packet to provideinformation regarding the quality of service requirements of the IPpacket. The MPLS header provides a tag that is is used by the exemplaryoptimization packet policy flow to specify the frequency, channel, powerand bitrate policy. If the packet contains a known tag, or is a memberof a known group or set of source IP addresses, the packet is tagged andthe control proceeds to determine if the packet has a known type (818).If the packet type is know, the control proceeds to lookup theappropriate frequency, channel, power characteristics and bitrate policy(820) regarding the bitrate, latency and jitter. The control thenproceeds to tag packet & forward to classifier (816). The control thenproceeds to the classifier algorithm (817). FIG. 4B outlines the detailsof the exemplary classifier algorithm according to one embodiment.

Once the packet has been interrogated in the state known tag, group,source etc (803) and the packet is deemed to not be tagged controlproceeds to determine if the packet is from a previously known source IPaddress or a known destination IP address (804). If the source ordestination of the packet is previously know, the packet is tagged andcontrol proceeds to the known type state (818). If the source ordestination of the packet is not previously known the control proceedsto known traffic type (805). In this state, the packet is interrogatedto determine if the type of traffic it is carrying is a known type witha defined default policy. If the packet is of a known traffic type withdefault policy control proceeds to establish default type for frequency,channel, power and bitrate policy (813). Thereafter control proceeds totag the packet and forward to classifier (816).

Once the packet has been interrogated in the known traffic type (805)and the packet is deemed to not be of a known traffic type controlproceeds to determine if the packet is of a high priority tag (806). Ifthe packet has a high priority tag with a default policy the packet istagged and control proceeds to establish the default high priorityfrequency, channel, power and bitrate policy (812). If the packet isdeemed to not have a high priority tag (806) control proceeds to sendpolicy request (807). In the policy request state, the packet is deemedto be unknown data packet, and the intelligent component requests theintelligent controller to establish a policy for the frequency, channel,power, and bitrate policy. The packet is then queued for resolution(808). In this state, the packet information is gathered and tagged andthe packet is prepared to be queued. The control then proceeds toreceived policy (809) and waits for a specific timeout to receive apolicy resolution. If the policy is not received within the timeoutperiod, control proceeds to wait in background (811). In this state, thepacket is queued and a timer set for the controller to send a policyresolution. If a policy resolution is not received within the timeoutperiod, the packet is then tagged to be best effort packet and thepacket is queued with the lowest priority best effort tag. If thecontroller forwards an appropriate policy resolution, control proceedsto establish and record the frequency, channel, power and bitrate policy(810).

Once the packet has been interrogated in the known type (818) and thepacket is deemed to not be of a known traffic type, control proceeds todetermine if the packet is of a known default list (819). The knowndefault list is maintained for a category of packet types. If the packettype is within a default list, control proceeds to establish defaultfrequency, channel, power, and bitrate policy (821). If the packet isnot within the known default list (819), control proceeds to determineif the packet has the high priority tag (814) asserted within the IPheader. If the high priority tag is asserted, control then proceeds toestablish high priority frequency, channel, power, bitrate policy (815).If the packet does not have the high priority tag asserted, controlproceeds to send a policy resolution request (807) to the intelligentcontroller. The intelligent controller upon receiving the resolutionrequest from the intelligent access point or the intelligent mobile nodeutilizes an ingress based policy control for determining the optimalnetwork wide frequency and channel allocation based on maximizingspectral efficiency. The overall target for the intelligent controlleris to transfer successfully the most highest priority packets. Thus allincoming packets are assigned a weight that is proportional to thequality of service parameters regarding bitrate, latency, and jitter.Upon successful completion of the packets, the respective allocatedweight of the packets is accumulated to determine the overall spectralefficiency.

FIG. 4B is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary classifier algorithmaccording to an alternative embodiment. Exemplary process may beperformed by a processing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry,dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as is run on a dedicatedmachine), or a combination of both. In the optimization packet policyflow of FIG. 4A, the packet was finally tagged and forwarded to theclassifier (816) and the control proceeded to the classifier algorithm(817). Once the packet has been tagged and forwarded to the classifieralgorithm, control proceeds to check bitrate, latency and jitterparameters (825) associated with the established tag of the packet.Based on the results, the tag is interrogated to establish the queue andchannel parameters (826). Once the queue and channel parameters havebeen established, control then proceeds to insert the new packet withinthe existing queues. Once the packet has been queued, control proceedsto recompute all queue parameters (827) to reflect the change in anyexisting queues and to absorb the new packet within the existing pool ofpacket queues. Once the packet has been queued, control proceeds torecompute and initialize channel parameters. In this state, the systemanalyzes the state of the queues and coorperates with the controller indetermining the best channel usage policies. Once the system hasrecomputed and initialized channel parameters (828), the packet waitsfor the queue requirements and its scheduled conditions to be met in thestate queue triggered (830). Once the queue trigger (830) is asserted,control proceeds to forward the packet info to the flow extractor module(831). In this state the flow extractor state control schedules thepacket and negotiates the appropriate radio and transmissioncharacteristics so that the packet can begin to be transmitted.Thereafter the system then proceeds to complete packet transfer perrequirements (832).

FIG. 4C is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary control packetalgorithm according to another embodiment. Exemplary process may beperformed by a processing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry,dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as is run on a dedicatedmachine), or a combination of both. The exemplary network of FIG. 4Cpresumes that all packets are control packets. FIG. 4A outlined theprocess where one of the initial states in optimizing the packet flow isto establish if the packet is a known data packet (801). If the datapacket is not a known data packet control proceeds to the control packetalgorithm (802) state.

Similar to the process of FIG. 4A, for simplicity of illustration theflow of FIG. 4C also outlines a fixed priority based flow in thatattributes to determine packet type classification are checkedsequentially. However, multiple classification priorities can beinterrogated substantially simultaneously and the order of prioritychecking can be rearranged in order to provide the least interrogationtime for the highest likelihood control packet types. Referring to FIG.4C, the packet is tagged with the identified packet type and once it isidentified, the system proceeds to establish queue and control channelparameters (854). The exemplary order of checking starts withdetermining if the destination IP address is the same as the IP addressof the access point (840) and ends with determining if the packet is amanagement packet involved in passing of maintenance information for itspacket QoS, CoS, queue, and scheduling (848). If at any point within thechecking sequence the packet is identified as one of the packet types,control forwards to establish queu and control channel parameters (854).In one embodiment, it is checked if the packets destination IP addressis the same as the access points IP address (840). If not, it is checkedif the packet contains an MPLS shim header in the state is packet mplstagged (841). If so, it is checked if packet is a general managementpacket in the state is packet management packet (842). If not, it ischecked if the packet is a maintenance packet in the state is packetmaintenance packet (843). If not, it is checked if the packet is arouting management packet such as ARP in the state is packet routingpacket (844). If not, it is checked if the packet is SLA maintenance ormanagement packet in the state is packet SLA packet (845). If not, it ischecked if the packet is a signaling packet such as sip in the state ispacket signaling packet (846). If not, it is checked if the packet is asecurity policy packet in the state is packet security policy packet(847). If not, it is checked if the packet is a QoS, CoS, Queue orscheduling packet in the state Is packet QoS, CoS, Queue, schedule(848). If the current packet is not deemed to be any of the checkedpacket types, the system continues to cooperate with the intelligentcontroller in attempting to analyze known packet types and ascertain thenature of the packet as either a control packet or a data packet. If thesystem is unable to identify the packet, it is assumed to be a lowpriority best effort packet and is scheduled accordingly.

If the packet is deemed to not be of a known control packet type,control proceeds to send policy request to the controller and queue thepacket for resolution in the state queue packet for resolution (850). Inthe policy request state, the packet is deemed to be unknown controlpacket, the intelligent component requests the intelligent controller toestablish a policy for the frequency, channel, power, and bitrate policyfor the control packet. The packet is then queued for resolution (850).In this state, the packet information is gathered and tagged and thepacket is prepared to be queued. The control then proceeds to receivedpolicy (851) and waits for a specific timeout to receive a policyresolution. If the policy is not received within the timeout period,control proceeds to wait in background (852). In this state, the packetis queued and a timer set for the controller to send a policyresolution. If a policy resolution is not received within the timeoutperiod, the packet is then tagged to be best effort packet and thepacket is queued with the lowest priority best effort tag. If thecontroller forwards an appropriate policy resolution, control proceedsto establish and record the frequency, channel, power and bitrate policy(853).

If the packet is deemed to be of a known control packet type from states(840-848) or the controller has established and recorded the controlpacket policy (853), FIG. 4C outlines the exemplary diagram ofestablishing the queued packet. In the state establish queue and controlchannel parameters (854) the resultant tag is interrogated to establishthe queue and control channel parameters (854). Once the queue andcontrol channel parameters have been established, control then proceedsto insert the new packet within the existing queues. Once the packet hasbeen queued, control proceeds to recompute control queue parameters(855) to reflect the change in any existing queues and to absorb the newpacket within the existing pool of packet queues. Once the packet hasbeen queued, control proceeds to recompute and initialize controlchannel parameters (856). In this state, the system analyzes the stateof the queues and cooperates with the intelligent controller indetermining the best channel usage policies. Once the system hasrecomputed and initialized control channel parameters (856), the packetwaits for the queue requirements and its scheduled conditions to be metin the state wait for queue to trigger (857). Once the queue triggered(858) is asserted, control proceeds to forward the packet information tothe forward control packet information to flow extractor (859). In thisstate, the flow extractor state control schedules the packet andnegotiates the appropriate radio and transmission characteristics sothat the packet can be transmitted. Thereafter, the system then proceedsto complete control packet transfer per requirements (860).

The algorithms of FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate exemplary ways for establishingoptimized packet forwarding and segregation of data and control packets.The embodiments of the present invention further provide the ways forthe algorithms to initially start with completely undefined packet typeand classification tables and then progressively learn as additionalpackets are processed. Thus as the system progresses it continues tobecome more intelligent and operate at higher optimization.

Exemplary Wireless Network Operations

FIG. 5A is a diagram of wireless network operating in an infrastructurebased operational model according to one embodiment. FIG. 5A outlinesthe nature of realized performance and the physical interconnectivity ofthe LAN (100), intelligent access point AP1 (160) and intelligent accesspoint AP2 (330). FIG. 5A illustrates the inverse dependency of theactual realized performance of a given mobile node to the distance fromthe access point.

As distance increases between access point AP1 (160) with increasingradius ra1, ra2 and finally ra3 the effective performance deteriorates.FIG. 5A simplifies the dependency into 4 regions, namely ra1 with thehighest performance, ra2 as the medium performance, ra3 as the lowestperformance, and finally beyond ra3, with no performance. FIG. 5Afurther outlines the region Ca1 (370) of a circle with radius ra1associated with the highest performance for mobile nodes from AP1 (160).The region Ca2 outlines a circle with radius ra2 associated with themedium performance for mobile nodes from AP1. Finally the region Ca3outlines a circle with radius ra3 associated with the lowest performancefor mobile nodes from AP1. For the purpose of this exemplary network,the circle Ca1 realizes a bandwidth of 54 mega bits per second (mbps),the circle Ca2 realizes a bandwidth of 10 mbps, the circle Ca3 realizesa bandwidth of 2 mbps, and finally the circle falling outside Ca3realizes a bandwidth of 0 mbps.

Similarly for AP2 (330), the first circle Cb1 (340) about AP2 of radiusrb1 realizes a bandwidth of 54 mbps. The middle circle of Cb2 (350) ofradius rb2 realizes a bandwidth of 10 mbps. The third circle of Cb3(360) of radius rb3 realizes a bandwidth of 2 mbps. Finally the circleoutside the radius rb3 realizes a bandwidth of 0 mbps.

FIG. 5A illustrates the relationship that when there are multiple mobilenodes, MN1 (270), MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN4 (300), MN5 (310) and MN6(320), these mobile nodes due to the nature of their portability willtransverse multiple access points at varied and changing distances, andwould consequently receive varying performance. Thus in the exemplarytopology illustrated in FIG. 5A, the mobile node MN3 (290) is onlyaccessible by AP2 (330) and lies within the circle cb3 and realizes aperformance to the LAN (100) at a bandwidth of 2 mbps.

Alternatively MN1 (270) can be accessed by either AP1 with a realizedbandwidth of 54 mega bits, as it resides within the circle Ca1 (370).Alternatively, MN2 (270) can be accessed by AP2 (330) with a realizedbandwidth of 2 mbps, as it resides within the circle Cb3. FIG. 5Aillustrates that the choices are possible for establishing connectivityto the LAN (100) and the realized performance is a dynamic function ofthe immediate proximity of the mobile node to the access point.

Referring to FIG. 5B, traditional wireless networks generally utilizestatic association of mobile nodes with the access points in that themobile node and access point association is typically made based on thephysical proximity of the mobile nodes to the access points as in thecase of nearest neighbor association. Alternatively traditional wirelessnetworks utilize signal strength as the ways for association betweenmobile nodes and access points. In such an association as a mobile nodetransverses from one access point towards another access points, thesignal strength between the first access point and the mobile nodecontinues to decrease while the signal strength between the secondaccess point and the mobile node continues to increase. At some points,the mobile node would switch its association from one access point tothe other access points.

In one embodiment, the access point and mobile node association utilizesreal-time network conditions in addition to signal strength indetermination of access point to mobile node association. The exemplarynetwork of FIG. 5A illustrates a given deployment having access points.These access points are physically located in a manner to provideuniform high-speed wireless coverage for the mobile nodes. FIG. 5Billustrates such a topology wherein access points are organized in agrid formation. The grid formation is organized such that mobile nodeMN1, or any other mobile nodes, can travel anywhere within the grid andcontinue to receive access to at least one access point at a prescribedhigh bit rate performance. The access points are further arranged insuch a fashion as to minimize interference amongst each other.Subsequently access points utilize different frequencies from theirnearest neighbors. In FIG. 5B, as mobile node MN1 travels away from AP1towards AP2, the intelligent controller is notified of the relativesignal strengths of signals received from AP1 and AP2 in one of twoways, either from a mobile node report, or from an access point report.

FIG. 5B further illustrates the range of transmission for mobile nodeMN1 (270) with concentric circles about MN1. The first circle about MN1(270) has a radius of ra1 and indicates the highest effective realizedbandwidth of 54 mbps. The middle circle has a radius of ra2 andindicates the medium effective realized bandwidth of 10 mbps. The finalcircle about MN1 (270) has a radius of ra3 and indicates a realizedbandwidth of 2 mbps. And the region outside the circle with radius ra3has an effective ralized bandwidth of 0 mbps. As seen in FIG. 5B theexemplary network in a grid formation allows for the mobile node MN1 toassociate with up to 4 access points at the highest bit rate. The mobilenode MN1 may associate with up to 8 APs with the medium bit rate.Finally the mobile node MN1 may associate with up to 11 access points atthe lowest bit rate.

In one embodiment, a multiple access point association utilizes thesetwo characteristics prevalent within the deployed networks. Whilenetworks are designed to provide a prescribed high bit rate associationbetween mobile nodes to access points on a one-to-one association, ifthe user is willing to accept a lower bit-rate, a one-to-manyassociation is possible. In addition, due to the nearest neighborinterference constraints at high bit-rates, the use of non-interferingnearest neighbors allows for a one-to many associations of mobile nodesto access points at lower bit rates.

FIG. 5C is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process according toone embodiment, where a mobile node may monitor one or more accesspoints within its range of reception and maintain a table of therelative signal strengths of the multiple access point associations.Exemplary process may be performed by a processing logic that maycomprise hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (such asis run on a dedicated machine), or a combination of both. In oneembodiment, this can be accomplished by substantially simultaneouslytuning to multiple channels associated with multiple access points.Relative signal strength is determined by analyzing the amount of energyreceived in all or part of the channels received. Alternatively, theaccess point may elect to tune to a single channel at a time, and gatherthis information by repeating the operation in a round robin or otherscheduling manners. The mobile node gathers the information bymonitoring activity of the signals received from multiple APs (1080) inFIG. 5C, or otherwise by initiating communications to the access pointswithin its range of reception and transmission (1091) in FIG. 5D.

In FIG. 5C, once the mobile node has received signals from multiple APs(1080), signal strengths are computed and the information is forwardedto the command and control access point. The command and control accesspoint then forwards this information to the intelligent controller(1081). Upon receiving the mobile node signal strengths from the accesspoint reports (1082), the controller proceeds to interrogate the currentnetwork conditions (1083). The controller may elect to utilize thestatistical and physical conditions to recomputed mobile nodeassociation. The exemplary network of FIG. 5C utilizes the QOSrequirements, the service level agreement, class of service type such asvoice traffic versus data traffic, and ingress based policy control todetermine which access points can serve the traffic demands of themobile node using QoS, CoS, traffic type Ingress based policies (1084).Once the determination of optimized mobile node to access pointassociation is made, the controller proceeds to notify the access pointsinvolved in the re-association (1085). Upon receiving the controllerreport for mobile node to access point association (1086), the accesspoint proceeds to notify the mobile nodes. Upon receiving thenotification from the access points (1087), the mobile nodes proceed toimplement the changes as requested by the controller.

FIG. 5D is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process according toone embodiment, where an access point may monitor one or more mobilenodes within its range of reception and maintain a table of the relativesignal strengths of the multiple mobile nodes and the mobile node toaccess point association. Exemplary process may be performed by aprocessing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry, dedicated logic,etc.), software (such as is run on a dedicated machine), or acombination of both. In one embodiment, this can be accomplished byhaving the access point to initiate a sequence of interrogation from themobile nodes on a round robin or a time-to-time basis (1090). Once themobile node receives the signal from the access point, it proceeds totransmit the requested information packet from the mobile node to theaccess point (1091). The receiving access point may elect to cooperatewith multiple access points to determine the relative signal strengthsof all the receiving access points, or alternatively elect to generatethe signal strengths of all the mobile nodes on an independent basis.Upon receiving the responses from the mobile nodes, the access pointproceeds to calculate the signal strengths of the mobile nodes (1092)and then proceeds to forward the information to the intelligentcontroller (1093). Upon receiving the mobile node signal strengths fromthe access point reports (1094), the controller proceeds to interrogatethe present network conditions (1095). The controller may elect toutilize the statistical and physical conditions to recomputed mobilenode associations (1096). The exemplary network of FIG. 5D utilizes theQOS requirements, the service level agreements, class of service typessuch as voice traffic versus data traffic, and ingress based policycontrol to determine which access point can serve the traffic demand ofthe mobile node. Once the determination of optimized mobile node toaccess point association is made, the controller proceeds to notify theaccess points involved in the re-association (1097). Upon receiving thecontroller report for mobile node to access point association (1098),the access point then proceeds to notify the mobile nodes. Uponreceiving the notification from the access points (1099), the mobilenodes proceed to implement the changes as requested by the controller.

According to another aspect of the invention, the association of themobile node with the access points can be modified in real-time on achannel-by-channel basis. The multi-channel aspect of the presentinvention enables a given mobile node to be associated with the accesspoints or mobile nodes substantially simultaneously. In one embodiment,one channel of a given mobile node can be associated with one accesspoint or one mobile node, while another channel of the given mobile nodeis associated with another access point or another mobile node. In suchan exemplary network, the network conditions as outlined in FIG. 5C andFIG. 5D above can be utilized to route traffic across the plurality ofchannels based on QOS requirements of the given mobile node, the servicelevel agreements, the class of service types such as voice trafficversus data traffic and the ingress based policy control to determinewhich access point can serve which service requirements of the mobilenode.

Exemplary Network Models

FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of a typical infrastructure based capacitymodel. In a traditional network the access point AP (160) is typicallyinterconnected to the LAN (100) by utilizing a wired network interface(210) such as Ethernet. The traditional infrastructure based networkingmodel utilizes the access point AP1 (160) as an aggregation device toenable connectivity between the mobile nodes to the LAN (100). Thenature of the wireless connectivity of a traditional wireless network issuch that the aggregate realized capacity will always be the lower ofeither the wireless channel between the mobile nodes to the accesspoint, or the backhaul connectivity between the LAN and the accesspoint. In the current traditional wireless networks, typically, thewireless link between the mobile nodes and the access point is about 54mbps while the backhaul link between the access points to the LAN (100)is typically 100 mbps. FIG. 5A illustrates such an exemplary traditionalnetwork and outlines the limited realized performance of aninfrastructure based wireless network to be 54 mbps. Similarly therealized performance of the access point AP2 (330) is also limited to 54mbps.

The aggregate capacity of the network illustrated in FIG. 6 will be theaggregation of the traffic from AP1 (160) and AP2 (330) for anaggregated capacity of 108 mbps. All mobile nodes within the scope ofthe network of FIG. 6 must share this aggregate capacity. With thetopology of the 6 mobile nodes MN1 (270), MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN4(300), MN5 (310), and MN6 (320) of FIG. 5A, the average maximal realizedbandwidth would be 108 mbps/6 nodes=18 mbps. As the proximity of accesspoints to the mobile nodes is taken into account the average realizedbandwidth would further deteriorate.

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a traditional wireless network operatingin the ad-hoc mode. In an ad-hoc operational model, the mobile nodeshave the capability to intercommunicate with each other directly and donot require the use of an access point. Traditional ad-hoc wirelessnetworks are disadvantaged in that a given wireless channel is sharedbetween multiple wireless mobile nodes and the effective realizedbandwidth is poorer. A single shared channel is utilized and multiplemobile nodes take turns in a well-behaved manner to access the channel,the predictability of access to the network in generally unreliable.Ad-hoc mobile nodes can also participate in forwarding traffic notdestined for the given node to an upstream or a downstream mobile node.Traditional ad-hoc models generally agree to utilize a given wirelesschannel and information is exchanged on a best effort basis.

FIG. 7 illustrates multiple interconnections among the mobile nodes MN1(270), MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN4 (300), MN5 (310), and MN6 (320). FIG. 7further illustrates the interconnection between mobile node MN5 (310) tothe LAN (100) through the wireless link (400). The connection to the LAN(100) can be made using either an access point, or simply another mobilenode with a direct physical connection to the LAN (100). In thetraditional ad-hoc topology depicted in FIG. 7 the highest realizedbandwidth is 54 mbps if traffic is originated or terminated at mobilenode MN5 (310). If MN5 needs to participate in forwarding traffic fromor to other mobile nodes, the wireless channel must first be used toforward the information to MN5 (310) and subsequently MN5 (310) forwardsthe traffic to the LAN (100). The half duplex nature of the operationresults in decreasing the throughput by a factor of 2.

The mobile nodes MN1 (270), MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN4 (300), MN5 (310),and MN6 (320) in aggregate are identified in FIG. 7 as an Ad-hoc cluster1. All the nodes within the cluster share a channel and can communicateto each other either directly or indirectly. The nodes within the Ad-hoccluster 1 take turns accessing the wireless media as outlined above.When communication takes place directly between members of the Ad-hoccluster 1, the realized bandwidth is at the link capacity of 54 mbps.Alternatively, indirect communication between members is effectively athalf duplex. Ad-hoc mode of operation is generally limited to a smallgroup of Ad-hoc mobile nodes. An inherent limitation of traditionalAd-hoc mode of operation is that to form a cluster, each node must havea channel access to the other nodes. Traditional methodology is to sharea common wireless channel and enable all the given Ad-hoc nodes toforward traffic on behalf of other nodes. Unfortunately, an artifact ofsuch a traditional ad-hoc network is that the realized bandwidth isinversely proportional to the number of hops between the mobiles nodestrying to communicate to each other. Traditional approach to thislimitation is to decrease the size of each Ad-hoc cluster by increasingthe number of connections to the LAN (100).

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a typical Ad-hoc based capacity model. Ad-hoccluster 1 (410) is an aggregate of multiple mobile nodes that share acommunication channel. FIG. 8 further illustrates a wireless link (400)between the Ad-hoc cluster 1 (410) and the LAN (100) at 54 mbps. Asshown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the maximum realized capacity is 54 mbps of suchan exemplary traditional ad-hoc network when communicating from theAd-hoc cluster 1 (410) to the LAN (100). Furthermore, when memberswithin the same Ad-Hoc cluster 1 (410) intercommunicate amongstthemselves, again the maximum realized capacity is 54 mbps as aconsequence of the shared channel. With the topology of the 6 mobilenodes MN1 (270), MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN4 (300), MN5 (310), and MN6(320) of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the average maximal realized bandwidth wouldbe 54 mbps/6 nodes=9 mbps. As the proximity of mobile nodes to eachother, and the number of hops to intercommunicate are taken into accountthe average realized bandwidth of the exemplary traditional ad-hocwireless network would further deteriorate.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary network modelaccording to one embodiment. In this embodiment, a semi-hoc mode ofoperation is described. The semi-hoc model utilizes both functionalitiesof access points and network interface modules. The details of aconverged intelligent access point AP1 and network interface module(NIM1) are illustrated in FIG. 9, herein referred to as a converged AP.The converged NIM may store, maintain, and control one or more networkand physical parameters such as channel selection (161/271), powerselection (162/272), and routing (163), among others. Furthermore, theconverged AP may have a storage capability locally to be used asparameter memory as outlined in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B above. The convergedAP can be either configured statically on a given initial condition suchas reset, or it may be configured in real-time on one or more physicalconditions, such as interference, among others. The converged APs may beconfigured under the direction of an intelligent controller (150).

As shown in FIG. 9, the converged AP can be operated as an intelligentaccess point, or as an intelligent network interface module (NIM). Ineither mode, the converged AP has all the components required to operateboth as an intelligent access point, and as an intelligent networkinterface module, namely, channel selection (161/271), power selection(162/272), and routing (163), among others. Certain embodiments of theinvention may further incorporate multiple interfaces to enable a singledevice to be used an intelligent access point or as an intelligent NIM,such as PCMCIA (240), Ethernet, a wireless radio interface (220) andUSB, among others.

FIG. 9 further illustrates a second converged AP module AP/NIM2 (169)having the same elements as the AP/NIM1. Multiple wireless and wiredinterfaces may be provided for enabling the devices to provide a fullfunctionality of forwarding, bridging, and routing among the interfaces.One of the exemplary service AP/NIM1 and AP/NIM2 (169) can providebridging services between the disparate wireless networks, such as Wifi,Wimax, and HiperLAN, etc. The exemplary network of FIG. 9 illustrates awireless interface (230) as the primary communications link between theAP/NIM1 and AP/NIM2. AP/NIM2 is in-turn connected to the wiredinfrastructure with a wired interface (241). AP/NIM1 is connected to thewired LAN (100) with a wired interface 210.

Exemplary Integrations of Access Points

FIG. 10A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary access point thatmay be attached to a fixed personal computer fixed PC (130) according toone embodiment. In this embodiment, an access point (132) is attached tothe fixed PC (131) through a local interface, such as USB, Ethernet,FIREWIRE, PCMCIA, etc. The fixed PC (131) is connected to the LAN (100)by a communication link 135 such as Ethernet, etc. The fixed PC has adirect communications link to the LAN (100) and does not require the useof the access point link for its own communications; however, the fixedPC provides the access point link as a service for communication to oneor more nodes. The attachment of the intelligent access point (132) to afixed PC (131) enables the network to support an infrastructure basedwireless operational model for rapid deployment within an existing wirednetwork. In such an exemplary configuration, the intelligent accesspoint (132) provides network services such as bridging, forwarding, androuting, etc, to the mobile nodes communicating across the wireless link(223) with the access point (132). The information from the mobile nodesacross link (223) is forwarded to the fixed PC (131) and the fixed PC(131) forwards the traffic to the LAN (100).

The intelligent access point (132) provides deployment of multipleaccess locations within the network in a rapid, convenient and seamlessmanner. Furthermore, the intelligent access point (122) serves as asecondary communications link for the fixed PC (131) to provide betterredundancy and resilience in accessing the resources within the localarea network (100).

In such a scenario, if connectivity through communication pathway (135)is not available to the LAN (100) for the fixed PC (131), the fixed PC(131) may use the wireless link 223 through the intelligent access pointto gain access to the LAN resources. Alternatively, the fixed PC mayelect to use the wireless link (223) for establishing an alternativepath for providing advanced real time services based on quality or classof service, such as voice or video communications, etc.

In one embodiment, a converged access point may be used in place of anintelligent access point to provide a similar mode of operation. In suchan exemplary configuration, the fixed PC (131) may alternate inreal-time between the infrastructure mode of operation, the ad-hoc modeof operation, and the semi-hoc mode of operation.

FIG. 10B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary network interfacemodule (NIM) (142) that may be attached to a fixed personal computerfixed PC (141) according to one embodiment. In such an exemplaryconfiguration, the NIM (142) is attached to the fixed PC (141) through alocal interface, such as USB, Ethernet, FIREWIRE, PCMCIA, etc. The fixedPC (141) is connected to the LAN (100) by a communication link 145 suchas Ethernet, etc. The fixed PC (141) has a direct communications link tothe LAN (100) and does not require the use of the NIM for its ownprimary communications. However, the fixed PC provides the NIM as aservice for communications to one or more mobile nodes. The attachmentof the intelligent NIM (142) to the fixed PC (141) enables the networkto support an ad-hoc based wireless operational model for rapiddeployment within an existing wired network. In such an exemplaryconfiguration, the intelligent NIM (142) provides network services suchas bridging, forwarding, and routing, etc, to the mobile nodescommunicating across the wireless link (224) with the NIM (142). Theinformation from the mobile nodes across link (224) is forwarded to thefixed PC (141) and the fixed PC (141) forwards the traffic to the LAN(100).

The intelligent NIM4 (142) provides multiple access locations within thenetwork in a rapid, convenient and seamless manner. Furthermore, theintelligent NIM (142) interface serves as a secondary communicationslink for the fixed PC (141) to provide better redundancy and resiliencein accessing the resources within the LAN (100). In such a scenario, ifconnectivity through 145 is not available to the LAN (100) for the fixedPC (141), the fixed PC (141) may use the wireless link 224 through theintelligent NIM to gain access to the resources. Alternatively, thefixed PC may elect to use the wireless link (224) for establishing analternative path for providing advanced real time services based onquality or class of service, such as voice or video communications, etc.

In one embodiment, a converged access point may be used in place of anintelligent NIM to provide a similar mode of operation. In such anexemplary configuration, the fixed PC (141) may alternate in real-timebetween the infrastructure mode of operation, the ad-hoc mode ofoperation, and the semi-hoc mode of operation.

Exemplary Segregations of Control Planes

FIG. 11 illustrates a traditional control plane used for theconfiguration and management of a traditional wireless network. FIG. 11illustrates the traditional flow of such a unified control/data plane,in that both command and control information shares a wireless link withthe data information, and the traditional network multiplexes the two toutilize a given channel. The operational state diagram of FIG. 11illustrates the traditional flow wherein upon initialization the systementers a power on reset (1000). After general housekeeping on a power onreset (1000), the system enters a state to identify a previously definedconfigured state (1010). Once a valid previous configuration state hasbeen identified, the system then attempts to establish the configuredstate (1020) as determined from identify previous config state (1010).Once the configured state has been established, the system may query thecurrent condition or respond to a user's request to determine if aconfiguration change is required from the identified configured state.If no configuration changes are required, the system enters anoperational mode (1060). Alternatively, if a configuration change isrequired, the system transitions to an identify new configuration state(1040). Once the new configuration state has been determined, the systemproceeds to establish new config state (1050). Once the system hasestablished new config state (1050), the system then enters anoperational state (1060). The system continues to cycle through the userconfig change required (1030) and onto the operational state (1060)based on the network requirements.

The traditional operational wireless network model is generallycontrolled in a static manner over a single shared control and datachannel. If remote management is required, the system generally sharesthe bandwidth between data traffic and command and control traffic.Alternatively, an authorized user may change the configuration.Furthermore, traditional wireless networks do not share informationacross multiple devices to provide a network wide optimized for thenetwork services provided.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process of asegregated control plane according to one embodiment. Exemplary processmay be performed by a processing logic that may comprise hardware(circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as is run on adedicated machine), or a combination of both. The individual wirelessdevices may cooperate with either an external controller, or tocooperate amongst themselves to establish a network wide control andcommand infrastructure. The local device is responsible for establishingthe local state of the given configuration. One or more external agentsor wireless devices may be utilized in determining the configurationstate.

Once the system completes the required house keeping for the power onreset (1100) state, according to one embodiment, the system maydetermine the previously configured operational state (1110). The systemthen identifies either a previously establish config state or identifiesa default initial power-up config state. The system then progresses toestablish config state (1120). Once the system has established aconfigured state, the system at a later point enables the user to changethis state as required (1130). If a configuration change is required orrequested in state 1130, the system proceeds to identify new configState (1140) by querying the required agent, then establish new configstate (1150). If a configuration change is not requested or required,the system proceeds to determine if a connection with the intelligentcontroller is required as it enters the state controller login request(1160). If the system is required to login with the controller, thesystem proceeds to determine if a link is available and attempts to makethe connection (1170). Alternatively, if the system is not required tologin with the controller, the system proceeds to determining ifreal-time optimization is selected (1190). If the system determines thatit has to login to a controller, the system opens a connection to thecontroller, and reports to the controller the current systemconfiguration state (1180). The controller is then queried to determineif a state transition is required. If so, the new state as requested bythe controller is established. At this point, the system has beeninitialized and the system transitions to determine the operationalbehavior.

The system transitions to the real-time selected (1190) state afterhaving established a configuration state either under the direction ofthe controller or independently. In the real-time selected state, thesystem determines if real-time management is required based on thesettings and the configuration of the system. If real-time optimizationis not required, the system enters the operational state (1200). Thesystem at this point is either in an operational mode (1200), or elsehas determined that real-time management is required and is in theaccumulate local traffic log (1210) state.

In one embodiment, the system may accumulate the operationalinformation, such as traffic type, traffic density, quality of service,frequency interference, etc. and to cooperate with the intelligentcontroller (150) in optimizing the efficiency of the network. Thereal-time optimization can take place either in cooperation with thecontroller, in cooperation with other intelligent nodes or independentlyat a single intelligent node.

In the real-time management mode, the system continually accumulateslocal traffic data, such as destination node, termination node,application type, quality of Service required, etc. within theaccumulate local traffic log (1210) state. The accumulated informationis used within the compute local real-time parameter selection (1220)state to make a determination of the optimal operational parameters suchas frequency usage and power usage, among others. Once the localcomputation is completed, the system then proceeds to determine if thecontroller link is still established in the cont. link established(1230) state. If the controller link is no longer available, the systemaccepts the local computation of the operational parameters and sets theappropriate values within the state establish local config state (1240).If the controller link is still available, the system cooperates withthe controller and reports the accumulated local log information to thecontroller as required in the state report local traffic log (1250). Thesystem then cooperates with the controller to get the requiredconfiguration and other information (1260). Once the network wideinformation has been received by the system, the system then proceeds toestablish network based config state (1270). The system then enters theoperational state (1200). From time to time, based on the configuration,the system may reenter some or all of the states from 1100 through 1270based on the conditions and the configuration of the system.

The controller in turn cooperates with the intelligent access points toaccumulate a real-time profile of the traffic and the physical conditionof the communication links, such as frequency usage, power usage andfrequency interference, etc. The controller uses multiple of algorithmsto determine the optimal network wide frequency allocations. Once theparameters are determined, the controller continues to inform all theinvolved access points.

In one embodiment, the system may continue real-time operation even incase of a loss of link with the intelligent controller. If the system isconfigured for a real-time controller based operational mode and thecommunication link to the controller is lost or inadequate, the systemreverts to a local real-time operational mode. The system continues toattempt to re-establish the link to the controller and revert back tothe real-time controller based operational mode as the controllerbecomes available. In summary, self-recovery from intelligent nodefailures, intelligent controller failures or link failures may beavailable. The system may continue normal operations during temporarycontroller and link failures, including the accumulation of localtraffic logs, selection of local real-time parameters, and otherinformation as configured by the controller, based on the defaultconfiguration. Once the link or controller connectivity isre-established, the controller queries the related components for theaccumulated information and seamless network operation proceeds.

Exemplary Scalable Wireless Network Operations

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary scalable wireless networkaccording to one embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the exemplarynetwork includes intelligent access points AP1 (160) and AP2 (330) andof intelligent mobile nodes MN1 (270), MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN4 (300),MN5 (310), and MN6 (320). The intelligent mobile node may include eitherintelligent network interface modules (NIMs) or converged access pointsoperating as mobile nodes or as individual access points, or acombination of these. Thus mobile node MN1 (270) may either operate asan access point, a NIM, or a combination of these.

FIG. 13 further illustrates the inverse relationship of the realizedperformance of a given mobile node to the distance from thetransmitting/receiving pair. As distance increases between say mobilenode MN1 (270) with increasing radii ra1, ra2 and finally ra3 theeffective performance deteriorates. FIG. 13, simplifies the dependencyinto 4 regions, namely ra1 with the highest performance, ra2 as themedium performance, ra3 as the lowest performance, and finally beyondra3, with no performance. FIG. 13 further outlines the region Ca1 of acircle with radius ra1 associated with the highest performance formobile nodes from mobile node MN1 (270). In one embodiment, the highestrealized bandwidth is set to 54 mbps, the medium realized bandwidth isset to 10 mbps, and the lowest realized bandwidth is set to 2 mbps, andfinally the region outside circle Ca3 with the radius ra3 realizes abandwidth of 0 mbps.

FIG. 13 further illustrates the range of effective bandwidth of mobilenode MN5 with concentric circles with increasing radii and deterioratingperformance; namely, Cb1, Cb2, Cb3 with realized bandwidths of 54 mbps,10 mbps, and 2 mbps, respectively. As illustrated by the exemplarydiagram of FIG. 13 access points may also participate within the networkeither in Ad-hoc, infrastructure, or Semi-hoc mode of operation. Thenetwork is capable of optimizing system wide performance by not onlyenabling physical parameter adaptability, such as frequency, and poweramong others, but the system may also adapt in real-time the mode ofoperation both between Ad-hoc, Infrastructure, and Semi-hoc, as well asfull functionality such as the NIM and access point functionality.

The system further may adjust real-time group membership of a given setof intelligent nodes to further subdivide and to alter the group membersin real-time. An exemplary member set may include mobile nodes MN1, MN2,MN3, MN4, MN5, and MN6. In a given exemplary mode of operation thesemembers may utilize a given channel for command and control, and utilizeanother given channel for the traffic plane. In such an operationalmode, if mobile node MN1 (270) needs to communicate with MN5 (310), thecontroller may be notified of the request on channel 1, the command andcontrol channel, and based on one or more of parameters, the controllermay elect to maintain the data plane group membership to the whole setof mobile nodes, namely MN1, MN2, MN3, MN4, MN5 and MN6. In thisscenario, while mobile nodes MN1, and MN5 intercommunicate, the otherMobile nodes are able to intercept the transmission.

Alternatively, the controller may elect that the mobile nodes MN1 andMN5 are temporarily segregated to form a separate subgroup with adifferent channel for both command and control as well as data plane ora combination of either. In such an exemplary scenario, the remainingnodes namely MN2, MN3, MN4 and MN6 remain as member to the originalgroup and are free to communicate without having knowledge ofinterference from or access to the information exchanged between NM1(270) and MN5 (310).

The controller may reside anywhere on the LAN (100) within the span ofthe network. The controller has access to the operational mobile nodeclusters across the network and is in a position to optimize operationswith a network wide scope.

In the exemplary diagram of FIG. 13, high-speed direct communicationbetween node MN3 (290) and MN4 (300) may not be possible due to therelative distance between the nodes. In one embodiment, mobile node 3(290) requests service from the controller. Once the controller receivesthe request, the controller inspects the current spectral disposition ofthe network and determines the optimal path and bandwidth for thecommunication between mobile node MN3 (290) and MN4 (300). Thecontroller may elect for mobile node MN3 (290) to form a member groupconsisting of MN3, MN6, and MN4, where MN6 acts as a relay for thecommunications between MN3 and MN4 at a given channel. Alternatively,the controller may elect to form two member groups. The first groupincludes MN3 and MN6 at a given channel, and the second group includesMN6 and MN4 at an alternative channel. If in the given embodiment anmulti-link connectivity is available, the relaying node MN6 does nothave to wait for the complete reception of the packet from MN3 beforestarting to relay the packet to MN4.

In one embodiment, if a traditional mobile node enters the range of anintelligent access point, the controller may elect to form anindependent group of traditional non-intelligent mobile nodes within asingle member group, and elect to form a single separate or multipleseparate intelligent member groups. The overlay nature with traditionalwireless networks such as Wifi, Wimax, cellular and other wirelessnetworks enables it to seamlessly integrate within existing deployments.The embodiments of the present invention provide mechanisms to cooperatewith traditional wireless technologies and selectively, based on theparameters such as bit rate or application class, use either thetraditional wireless mechanism or use the techniques described herein.

FIGS. 14A-14E are diagrams illustrating exemplary semi-hoc networksaccording to one embodiment. In this embodiment, the network may operatesubstantially simultaneously in an infrastructure mode as well as ad-hocmode of operation. As illustrated in FIG. 14A LAN (100) is the primarywired network at the subscriber site. Intelligent access point AP1 (160)and AP2 (330) are two intelligent access points operating in aninfrastructure mode that provide the primary connectivity for one ormore mobile nodes to the LAN (100) through the use of network interface1 (210) and network interface 2 (330). FIG. 14A further illustratesmultiple mobile nodes MN1 (270), MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN4 (300), MN5(310) and MN6 (320) that are within the range of either AP1 (160) or AP2(330). Further, the given mobile nodes MN1 (270) through MN6 (320) arewithin range of each other for direct communications.

FIG. 14A illustrates a scenario where mobile node MN2 initiates arequest for communication with mobile node MN4 (300). In such ascenario, MN2 (280) makes a request either directly to the MN4 (300),either through an access point, such as AP1 (160) or AP2 (330), orthrough making a request to the controller. In FIG. 14A, the exemplaryrequest was made through the controller and the controller elected tohave the communication occur directly between MN2 (280) and MN4 (300)using a link L1 with specific channel related characteristics. In theexemplary diagram of FIG. 14A the control and command request to thecontroller residing somewhere within the LAN (100) is made through AP1(160) or AP2 (330). In the exemplary diagram of FIG. 14A the initialmember group includes MN1, MN2, MN3, MN4, MN5, and MN6. Once thecontroller receives the request from MN2, the controller elects tosegregate the member groups into two groups. The first initial groupincludes MN2, MN3, MN5 and MN6 using the original communication link,and the second new group of MN2 and MN4 using the communication link L1.

The controller communicates the configuration to mobile node MN2 andMN4. Upon receiving the communication from the controller, the mobilenodes switch to the new link characteristics of Link L1 and initiatecommunication amongst each other. In one embodiment, each of the mobilenodes MN2 and MN4 continues to cooperate in command and controlcommunications with the controller over the original link while carryingout the communications amongst themselves. Upon the completion of thetransfer, the mobile nodes MN2 and MN4 may cooperate with the controllerto rejoin the original member group at the group channel, or otherwisecontinue to operate as an independent segregated group.

As shown in FIG. 14A, the exemplary wireless network includes one ormore intelligent mobile nodes, namely MN1, MN2, MN3, MN4, MN5, MN6, anda pair of intelligent access points AP1 and AP2. The wireless networkfor FIG. 14B is connected to the LAN (100) through the intelligentaccess points AP1 by ways of a wired link network interface 1 (210) andAP2 by ways of a wired link network interface 2 (370). Similar to theconfiguration of FIG. 14A, MN2 (280) requests a link from the controllerto communicate with MN3 (290). The controller elects to utilize the linkL2 and form a segregated group with members MN2 (280) and MN3 (290) andsends the required command and control information to both MN2 (280) andMN3 (290). MN2 (280) and MN3 (290) adjust the required parameters toestablish the communications link L2 to initiate communication amongsteach other. FIG. 14B illustrates a need for communication between MN2 toMN3, while FIG. 14A illustrates a need for communication between MN2(280) and MN4 (300).

FIG. 14B further illustrates a circle Cb1 about MN3 that outlines theregion of coverage about MN3 with the highest bandwidth capability of 54mbps. The region Cb1 incorporates MN2 (280), MN3 (290) and MN6 (320).Furthermore, FIG. 14B illustrates a circle Ca1 about MN2 that outlinesthe area of coverage about MN3 with the highest bandwidth capability of54 mbps. The region Ca1 incorporates MN2 (280), MN3 (290), MN6 (320),MN1 (270), and MN4 (300). In one embodiment, the intelligent nodes mayadjust transmission power to increase or decrease range, or radii, ofthe circles Ca1 and Cb1. The controller cooperates with one or moreintelligent mobile nodes to adjust power levels to mitigate anyunnecessary interference between the intelligent controllers.

In one embodiment, multiple links may be established in cooperation withthe controller to form multiple member groups. The first group mayinclude MN2 and MN4 utilizing link L1 from FIG. 14A. The second groupmay include MN2 and MN3 utilizing link L2, and the remaining MN6, MN1,and MN5 utilizing the original link. The three subgroups mayintercommunicate within their group members without the potential ofinterference from other member groups. In certain embodiments of theinvention, the system includes of intelligent nodes with single radiocapability. In such an embodiment, the intelligent nodes may belong tomultiple groups, but due to the limitation of a single radio, they mayonly be active within one group at a time. In such an embodiment, MN2 ofFIG. 14B multiplexes between link L1, L2 and the original link on arepetitive basis. In an alternative embodiment, the system includes ofintelligent nodes with multiple radio capability, where two or moresimultaneous channels are available for communications from a givenmobile node. In one embodiment, the intelligent nodes may belong tomultiple groups and each of these groups may intercommunicate on aseparate link simultaneously. In one embodiment, MN2 of FIG. 14Butilizes channel 1 for the original link, channel 2 for link L1, andchannel 3 for link L2. In such an exemplary network, the system has thecapability of providing cut through forwarding between the member group(MN2, MN3) and (MN2, MN4).

FIG. 14C illustrates another exemplary communication link requestbetween mobile node MN1 (270) and mobile node MN6 (320). Mobile node MN1(270) makes a request for communication with MN6 in cooperation with thecontroller. The controller elects to enable communication between MN1and MN6 utilizing communication link L3. As described above with respectto FIGS. 14A and 14B, MN1 and MN6 in cooperation with the controllersegregate to form a separate group membership to establish thecommunication link L3. The controller may elect to either enablecommunication within the original group membership using the originalchannel or elect to have the nodes involved in the communicationtransition to form a new group membership at a new channel. Furthermore,the new group membership may include MN1 and MN6, or otherwise it mayinclude additional mobile nodes based on one or more factors such as theclass or quality of service.

In one embodiment, a non-blocking wireless network is provided thatreduces latency, increases capacity and improves performance. It isfurther advantageous in that it provides a ways for the network toachieve better real-time performance.

FIG. 14D illustrates the communication link request of the intelligentmobile node MN4 (300) in establishing a connection with MN5 (310). FIG.14D further illustrates a circle Cb1 centered about MN4 (300) indicatingthe range where MN4 is able to have maximum bandwidth, namely 54 mbps.FIG. 14D further illustrates a circle Ca1 centered about MN5 (310)indicating the range where MN5 is able to have maximum bandwidth, namely54 mbps. Once the controller receives the request from intelligentmobile node MN4 (300) across the LAN (100), the controller analyzes therequest and determines there are two primary routes available forcommunications. Firstly, MN4 to AP1, to network interface 1, across theLAN (100), to network interface 2 (370), to AP2 (330), and finally toMN5 (310), or alternatively, a direct path between MN4 to MN5 usingcommunications link L4. The controller takes into account the conditionof the current traffic at the AP's and the LAN in view of the class andquality of service and elects to utilize a dedicated communications linkL4 for the communication. Alternatively, if the requirements of thetransaction request were not too demanding, the controller may elect toutilize the route across the LAN, and potentially reserve thecommunication link L4 for an alternative future transaction that mayhave more demanding requirements.

FIG. 14E illustrates the communication link request of the intelligentmobile node MN1 (270), in cooperation with the controller, inestablishing a connection with MN4 (300). In the exemplary network ofFIG. 14E, the controller has three primary route options. Firstly, thecontroller may elect to utilize a direct link between MN1 and MN4,namely communication link L5. Secondly, the controller may elect toutilize AP1 (160) to relay the information from MN1 to MN4.Alternatively, the controller may elect to have AP1 simply act as abridge for transferring the connection from MN1 to the LAN and have theLAN relay it back to AP1 to complete the connection with MN4. Asillustrated in FIG. 14E the circle Ca1 centered about MN4 illustratesall the above routes can be enabled at the peak performance of thenetwork at 54 mbps. However, a direct connection will result in a fullduplex capacity, while the others will require forwarding, thus onlyachieve a half duplex capacity. Furthermore, the use of the AP1 wouldrestrict any other mobile nodes from gaining access to the resource. Thecontroller may elect to use any of the routes available to carry out thetransaction, based in the network wide requirements of the alternatives.In the exemplary network of FIG. 14E the controller elects to utilizethe communications link L5 for the transaction.

Exemplary Channel Allocation Mechanisms

In one embodiment, allocation of multiple links simultaneously may beperformed within the wireless network. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustratingan exemplary mechanism for allocating channels according to oneembodiment. FIG. 15 illustrates the real-time channel allocationmechanism, where an intelligent node may communicate with anotherintelligent component, such an intelligent node, on a given channel,such as link 6. The intelligent node may then be required to switch inreal-time to another channel to initiate communication with anotherrequired node. FIG. 15 further illustrates that multiple channels forcommunication such as link4, link 3, and link5 at mobile node MN4 (300)may be supported. The intelligent node may utilize one of the channelsto communicate with one intelligent component, such as another mobilenode. Furthermore, one of the other channels may be utilized forcommunication with other required mobile nodes. FIG. 15 furtherillustrates that such a mechanism is used by other intelligentcomponents for interrupting the data channel, such as link 3 at mobilenode MN4 (300), in case of a higher priority arbitration request.

In the exemplary network of FIG. 15, the system utilizes a separatechannel residing on link 6 as the command and control channel. Allmobile nodes MN1, MN2, MN3, MN4, MN5, and MN6 in cooperation with thelocal area network have elected to use link 6 for strictly a command andcontrol channel. Each of the intelligent components will concurrentlymaintain a connection with each other on link 6 while communicatinginformation the data transaction over another link.

FIG. 15 illustrates that LAN (100) has the connectivity to access pointAP1 (160) through network interface 1 (210), as well as connectivity toaccess point AP2 (330) through network interface 2 (370). Each of theaccess points provides an alternative ways for communicating betweencertain mobile nodes through the LAN (100). FIG. 15 further illustratesthe range of coverage of MN3 (290), AP2 (330), MN5 (310), AP1 (160), andMN1 (270), namely Ca1, Cb1, Cc1, Cd1, and Ce1, respectively. As shown inFIG. 15, these regions overlap and provide a generally complete regionof coverage at the highest exemplary network bandwidth, namely 54 mbps.The range circles about MN2 (280), MN6 (320) and MN4 (300) have not beenillustrated for ease of readability, however, it will be appreciatedthat each of the mobile nodes has the capability of participating in agiven communication. As shown in FIG. 15, interference issues betweenmobile nodes is a concern. Advanced power management is provided tomitigate the effect of interference between mobile nodes.

FIG. 15 further illustrates the simultaneous ability of a given node tocommunicate on multiple of channels. In the exemplary network of FIG. 15mobile node MN2 (280) has the capability of simultaneously utilizing atleast two data channels to communicate with MN3 and MN4, namely link L2and link L3 respectively. In one embodiment, the communication can occureither simultaneously or in a round robin fashion, where the mobile nodetakes turns rotating through the channels one at a time. In such anembodiment, mobile node MN2 may alternate between tuning to the channelfor link L2 and then switching to an alternative channel for link L3.Each of the nodes illustrated in FIG. 15 has the ability ofsimultaneously communicating on multiple channels either in a concurrentmanner, a scheduled manner or in an arbitrated manner.

The communication channel link L6 used for command and control is notexplicitly illustrated in FIG. 15. However even mobile nodes onlyoutlining a single data link in FIG. 15, such as mobile node MN6 (320),are simultaneously inter-communicating on the command and controlchannel link L6 and the given data channel. Mobile node MN1 (270) hasthe capability of simultaneously utilizing at least three communicationchannels, namely link L6 for the command and control link, link L1 forthe data communication with MN6 (320), and finally link L5 for datacommunication with MN4 (300).

In one embodiment, mobile node MN2 (280) has the capability ofsimultaneously utilizing at least three communication channels, namelyLink L6 for the command and control link, L2 for the data communicationwith MN3, and L3 for the data communication with MN4.

Mobile node MN3 (290) may establish at least two communicationschannels, namely link L6 for the command and control link, link L2 forthe data communication with MN2 (280).

Mobile node MN4 (300) may establish at least four communicationchannels, namely link L6 for the command and control link, link L3 forthe data communication with MN2 (280), link L5 for the datacommunication with MN1 (270), and finally link L4 for the datacommunication with MN5 (310).

Mobile node MN5 (310) may establish at least two communicationschannels, namely link 6 for the command and control link, and link L4for the data communication with MN4 (300). Mobile node MN6 (320) mayestablish at least two communications channels, namely link 6 for thecommand and control link, and link L1 for the data communication withMN1 (270). Note that the above configurations are described for purposesof illustration only. Various configurations may exist.

In one embodiment, the physical characteristics may be switched inreal-time for a given communications link, such as the frequency ofusage, bandwidth, quality of service, transmission power, receiversensitivity, among others. In one embodiment, a given group member maybe associated with a given link to have a time value, where the linkassociation can be established on one or more time related parameters,such as transactional use, temporary time expired basis, a rotatingbasis, on a static basis, among others. Thus, the link association witha specific member group can be adjusted in real-time.

It is advantageous in that the network has the ability ofintercommunicating by use of the command and control channel for all themanagement needs of the network rather than fragmenting the controlwithin the data channel. This approach is further advantageous in that arequest for communication can occur in advance of the actual datatransaction and the network can select an optimal path to honor therequest and queue the pending transactions. In contrast, traditionalwireless networks only operate on a given current pending transaction.The current networks have either very poor or no mechanisms at all foranticipating any future state of the network, and thus have no basis forpostponing a potential transaction. In such a traditional network,queuing transactions has no meaning, transactions are either granted ordenied. In one embodiment, a given transaction may be contemplated, andscheduled for a future transmission. Multiple transactions may be queuedat a given mobile node for delivery based on the requirements of theservice. In one embodiment, a given island of mobile nodes mayintercommunicate with another island of mobile nodes across the localarea network, to cooperate in scheduling and queuing communicationtransactions.

According to one embodiment, an intelligent controller (150) mayparticipate in the command and control decisions of the wirelessnetwork. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless networkconfiguration according to one embodiment. The controller (150) in FIG.16 is interconnected to the LAN (100) through a wired link (155). TheLAN in-turn is interconnected to the mobile nodes MN1 through MN6 by wayof intelligent access points AP1 (160) and AP2 (330) through networkinterface 1 (210) and network interface 2 (370), respectively. Theintelligent access points in cooperation with the intelligent mobilenodes form a contiguous region of coverage with the highest exemplarybandwidth of 54 mbps.

In one embodiment, an intelligent controller (150) may reside within thelocal area network, to support the command and control requirements ofthe wireless network. While FIG. 15 illustrates the ability of theintelligent components to cooperate in each other in optimizing thebehavior of the wireless network, FIG. 16 illustrates the ability of theintelligent components to cooperate with one or more controllers tooptimize the behavior of the wireless network.

In one embodiment, the controller cooperates with the mobile nodes inaccumulating information regarding the transactions of the given mobilenodes and the current state of the wireless network. This data isgathered and analyzed by the controller (150). The mobile nodescooperate with the controller to help gather and report the requiredinformation. The controller then proceeds to analyze the globalperspective of the network and set the policies for individual mobilenodes, such as frequency usage, power usage, and channel usage. Thecontroller may further cooperate with the mobile nodes on atransactional basis to optimize the network behavior. The centralizedcontroller is advantageous in that the resource requirements the mobilenodes are mitigated. The controller may have computationally intensiverequirements such as the complex nature of route selection. Thecentralized controller enables an architecture that utilizes lower costmobile nodes and access points, and shares the more expensivecomputational resources at the centralized controller rather thanrequiring the individual intelligent components to have their ownexpensive computational resources.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary real-time channelallocation according to one embodiment. Exemplary process may beperformed by a processing logic that may comprise hardware (circuitry,dedicated logic, etc.), software (such as is run on a dedicatedmachine), or a combination of both. The flow diagram illustrated in FIG.17 is within the execution path of an intelligent controller. Once thecontroller has completed the general initialization requirements of thesystem and is in an operational mode, the controller may execute theoperations of FIG. 17 from time to time. The intelligent controller mayretrieve the local logs and other information from the individualintelligent access points within the wireless network in the stateretrieve local traffic logs (1400). The system can be configured so thatthe information is either polled from the individual intelligent nodes,or otherwise the intelligent nodes are configured to independently sendthe information from time to time.

Once the information has been gathered in the retrieve local trafficlogs (1400), the system proceeds to the compute allocation (1410) state.In the compute allocation (1410) state, the system computes the routesand the bandwidth usage requirements. The system then attempts tobalance the current outstanding needs of the network and the systemfurther attempts to anticipate the future needs of the system. Certainapplications such as voice or video streaming require continuousresources. The system may analyze the traffic logs and forecast thelikely streaming requirements of the network in the near future. Thesystem may compute the channel allocations for the intelligentcomponents in anticipation of a potential future congestion event. Basedon the condition of the network, the system may elect to re-allocate apreviously allocated channel in a different manner. The aggregation oftraffic information from multiple intelligent nodes gives the system anetwork wide scope rather than just a single node perspective andsubsequently the system is able to better optimize the network.

Once the system has computed the channel allocation in the state computeallocation (1410), the system proceeds to advertise allocation (1420).In the advertise allocation (1420) state, the system informs all thenodes that require new information regarding the new channel allocation.Once the system has advertised the new allocation scheme, the network isoptimized.

After advertise allocation (1420) state, the system proceeds to verifylocal configuration (1430). The system does not just rely on networkerror conditions to report the failure of advertising the channelallocation. Rather, the system proactively queries all the nodes toverify if the advertised allocation has been established. Any failure inverification leads to re-advertising the failed allocation. Once thesystem has verified that the allocation across the network has beenestablished, the system then proceeds to an operational state. Thesystem may repeat the operations of FIG. 17 from time to time asrequired by the configuration and the state of the network. FIG. 17 issimply an exemplary flow diagram in regards to channel allocation withinthe present invention. However, other parameters such as power usagealso follow a similar flow diagram.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary channel usage accordingto one embodiment. The term channel is referred to as a fixed physicalcentral RF frequency with an associated RF bandwidth that is utilizedfor a single communication from a given transmitter to a given receiver.Generally, a given wireless band includes muleiple channels that areused to establish communications among the mobile nodes. Traditionalinfrastructure network and ad-hoc networks generally select a givenchannel for communications and all the mobile nodes within the domain ofthe transmitting node tune to the given channel for inter-communication.Once a communication link is established, the mobile nodes continue tooperate on the link at the given channel. Some traditional wirelessnetworks, such as 802.11b, have the capability that in case ofinterference, the transmitting node may elect a different channel.Generally channel selection is a static process or at best based on apre-defined protocol.

FIG. 18 illustrates a mechanism of real-time channel allocation for asimple case of point-to-point communication between MN1 and MN2, MN3 andMN4 and finally MN5 and MN6. For the sake of simplicity, it is assumedthat the transactional communication needs are short in nature andrequests are made sparsely. Further upon receiving the requests, thecontroller has elected to utilize channel 1 for communication from MN1to MN2, channel 2 for communication between MN3 to MN4 and finallychannel 3 for communication between MN5 to MN6.

FIG. 18 illustrates that at Time1 a request from MN1 was made to thecontroller for establishing a link L1. The controller elected to usechannel 1 (1500 & 1510) for establishing link L1. The controller maymake a physical association between given mobile nodes and the channelused for communication. FIG. 18 further illustrates that while channel 1(1500) is being utilized for communication, no other links are active atthis time and mobile nodes MN3 (1520), MN4 (1530), MN5 (1540) and MN6(1550) are in an idle mode.

At Time2, mobile node MN3 (1580) makes a request to the controller forestablishing a link L2. The controller elects to use channel 2 (1580 and1590) for establishing link L2. FIG. 18 further illustrates that whilechannel 2 (1580) is being utilized for communication, no other links areactive at this time and mobile nodes MN1 (1560), MN2 (1570), MN5 (1600),and MN6 (1610) are in an idle mode.

At Time3, mobile node MN5 (1660) makes a request to the controller forestablishing a link L3. The controller elects to use channel 3 (1660 and1670) for establishing link L3. FIG. 18 further illustrates that whilechannel 2 (1580) is being utilized for communication, no other links areactive at this time and mobile nodes MN1 (1620), MN2 (1630), MN3 (1640),and MN4 (1650) are in an idle mode.

Referring to FIG. 18, the controller utilizes the real-time allocationbased on a physical association or a schedule basis. Schedule allocationis exemplified when at Time2 mobile node MN5 (1600) had made thecommunication request rather than mobile node MN3 (1580) that thechannel 2 would have been assigned to the link between MN5 and MN6.Physical association allocation is exemplified when at Time2 mobile nodeMN5 (1600) had made the communication request rather than mobile nodeMN3 (1580), where channel 3 would have been assigned to the link betweenMN5 and MN6. The controller uses one or more parameters to determine andoptimize channel usage, such as group members, order of request, andbandwidth requirements, among others.

Once a channel has been allocated to a link, the mobile nodes are freeto carry out the communication as negotiated in cooperation with theintelligent controller. The controller may enforce policy violations byeither interrupting the violating nodes, or otherwise refusing a futurecommunication request of the violating nodes.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary channel allocationaccording to another embodiment. In this embodiment, switched real-timechannel allocation is supported. FIG. 18 illustrated a physicalallocation or a schedule allocation between the channel used and themobile nodes used for communication. As seen in FIG. 18, MN1 and MN2communicate on channel 1 and will carry out all their communication onthat channel. In traditional networks, channels are allocated on arelatively static basis, such as physical allocation. The traditionalchannel allocation mechanisms generally do not have any regard for, orthe knowledge of, the information being exchanged.

FIG. 19 illustrates a real-time traffic aware allocation mechanism,where channel usage is further based on the information being exchanged,such as traffic type, class of service, quality of service, networkcongestion conditions, or other parameters that relate to the characterof the information about to be exchanged rather than static parameterssuch as a fixed link bandwidth. For example, channel 1 may be used forvoice traffic, while channel 3 is used for video traffic. Such anexemplary configuration of the network is advantageous in that thereservation of the bandwidth is based on a real-time condition ratherthan a static worst-case condition. Generally voice traffic requiresvery low latency and jitter, however, the bit rate does not need to bevery high. In contrast, video traffic such as video on demand is lesssensitive to the latency and jitter conditions, but requires very highbandwidth. A single mobile node that utilizes both kinds of traffic,will require the network to support low latency, low jitter andhigh-bandwidth. In an exemplary real-time allocation scenario, if amobile node negotiates a connection with an access point, it willrequest an allocation of a low bit rate channel for voice traffic,leaving other mobile nodes to get a chance to request the use of otherchannels. Once the need arises for high bit rate, the mobile node mayrequest a high bit rate channel, but the jitter and latency requirementswill be more relaxed.

In one embodiment, the mobile node and access point may maintainreserved connections requirements of the connections already underway.In a exemplary scenario of an access point with ingress based policycontrol, when the mobile node informs the access point that it needs toestablish a voice connection, the access point may interrogate all theconnections that have already been established and the networkconditions in terms of traffic congestion. If the access point has thecapacity to carry the new voice traffic, it may allocate a channel tothe new connection, and inform the mobile node what channel to use.

FIG. 19 illustrates that at Time1 a request from MN1 was made to thecontroller for establishing a link L1. The controller elects to usechannel 1 (1700 and 1710) for establishing link L1. FIG. 19 furtherillustrates that while channel 1 (1700) is being utilized forcommunication, MN4 also made a request to the controller forestablishing a link L3. The controller elects to use channel 3 (1730 and1740) for establishing link L3. MN3 (1720) and MN6 (1750) are in an idlemode.

At Time2, mobile node MN2 (1770) makes a request to the controller forestablishing link L1. The controller elects to use channel 1 (1770 and1810) for establishing link L1. FIG. 19 further illustrates that attime2 while channel 1 (1770) is being utilized for communication, MN3also made a request to the controller for establishing link L2. Thecontroller elects to use channel 2 (1780 and 1790) for establishing linkL2. MN1 (1760) and MN5 (1800) are in an idle mode.

At Time3, mobile node MN1 (1820) makes a request to the controller forestablishing link L1. The controller elects to use channel1 (1820 and1830) for establishing link L1. FIG. 19 further illustrates that atTime3 while channel 1 (1820) is being utilized for communications, MN3also made a request to the controller for establishing link L3. Thecontroller elects to use channel 3 (1840 and 1850) for establishing linkL3. FIG. 19 further illustrates that at Time3 while channel 1 (1820) andchannel3 (1840) are being utilized for communications, MN5 also made arequest to the controller for establishing link L2. The controllerelects to use channel 2 (1860 and 1870) for establishing link L2.

In one embodiment, the requesting nodes may switch between multiplechannels for establishing communications based on real-time networkconditions. FIG. 19 further illustrates the ability that a givencontroller may cooperate with the intelligent mobile nodes to optimizethe channels in a given wireless network. Thus in FIG. 19, at Time3 thecommunication request by MN3 to establish linkL3 may be allocated tochannel 2 based on the anticipated condition of the network and thehistory of the transacting nodes.

In one embodiment, the controller utilizes network transactions inoptimizing the anticipated behavior of the network. The controller mayutilize previous transactional history to aid in optimizing theanticipated behavior of the network. In this embodiment, the controllerin cooperation with the access points can maintain a history of thetraffic statistic for the respective mobile nodes and the access points.The controller utilizes the previous history of the transactionstatistics for the respective mobile nodes or can simply utilize asystem wide default parameters based on the service being requested. Insuch a real-time allocation, if the system grants a video on demandrequest, and further determines that the access point being utilizedwould require additional voice circuits, it can then preemptively haveall data traffic be routed using mobile node to mobile node relayingrather than grant short term data packet to only refuse a voiceconnection later. The network is optimized using transactional historyto predict what the likely requirements will continue to be over a nearterm, and then take preemptive action before a congestion conditionoccurs. This is especially advantageous when real-time streams of multiservice such as voice calls or video streams are involved due to thepersistent nature of these events. When a voice call is initiated, theuser is anticipated to continue to utilize the connection for a periodof time such as a few minutes, this anticipatory information can beutilized to preemptively optimize the network. Similarly, when a userinitiates a video on demand or a broadcast video stream, it is highlylikely that this type of traffic will last several minutes. Thesegregated command and control from the data traffic of the presentinvention further provides the ways for queuing of transactions.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary channel usage accordingto another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, simultaneousreal-time channel allocation may be supported. FIG. 18 and FIG. 19illustrated a physical allocation, schedule allocation, or atransactional real-time allocation between the channel used and themobile nodes used for communication.

As shown in FIG. 18, allocation of channel is exemplified on arelatively static basis, such as physical allocation or scheduleallocation. As further seen in FIG. 19, allocation of channel isexemplified on a real-time switched basis, such as transactionalallocation. FIG. 20 alternatively exemplifies a simultaneous real-timetraffic aware allocation mechanism, where multiple channel usage at agiven intelligent component is possible. For example, mobile node MN2(2030) at Time3 is simultaneously communication on channel 1 and channel3.

FIG. 20 illustrates that at Time1 a request from MN1 was made to thecontroller for establishing a link L1. The controller elects to usechannel 1 (1900 and 1910) for establishing link L1. FIG. 20 furtherillustrates that while channel 1 (1900) is being utilized forcommunication, MN4 also made a request to the controller forestablishing a link L3. The controller elects to use channel 3 (1930 and1940) for establishing link L3. MN3 (1920) and MN6 (1950) are in an idlemode.

At Time2, mobile node MN2 (1970) makes a request to the controller forestablishing link L1. The controller elects to use channel 1 (1970 and2010) for establishing link L1. FIG. 20 further illustrates that atTime2 while channel 1 (1970) is being utilized for communication, MN3also made a request to the controller for establishing link L2. Thecontroller elects to use channel 2 (1980 and 1990) for establishing linkL2. MN1 (1960) and MN5 (2000) are in an idle mode.

At Time3, mobile node MN1 (2020) makes a request to the controller forestablishing link L1. The controller elects to use channel1 (2020 and2030) for establishing link L1. FIG. 20 further illustrates that attime3 while channel 1 (2020) is being utilized for communications, MN3also made a request to the controller for establishing link L3. Thecontroller elects to use channel 3 (2040 and 2030) for establishing linkL3. The link L3 request made by the mobile node MN3 is to communicate tomobile node MN2 (2030). However, MN2 is already in midst of acommunication transaction with MN1 (2020). Accordingly, multiplecommunications links may be established for a given mobile node.Subsequently the controller may allocate any channel other than channel1 for the transaction.

FIG. 20 further illustrates that at Time3 while channel 1 (2020) andchannel3 (2040) are being utilized for communications, MN5 also made arequest to the controller for establishing link L2. The controllerelects to use channel 2 (2060 and 2070) for establishing link L2. FIG.20 illustrates the ways and mechanisms that a given mobile node maysimultaneous communicate with the other nodes.

FIG. 20 further illustrates the mechanism wherein at Time3 thecommunication request by MN3 to establish link3 to MN2 may have beenallocated for the purpose of eventual forwarding by mobile node MN2 toanother mobile node, such as mobile node MN4. Such a mechanismillustrates the use of the additional channels as a general pool ofnetwork resources rather than just a dedicated resource for the benefitof the intelligent component itself.

According to one embodiment, the controller utilizes networktransactions in optimizing the anticipated behavior of the network. Thecontroller may utilize previous transactional history to aid inoptimizing the anticipated behavior of the network. In one embodiment,the controller in cooperation with the access points can maintain ahistory of the traffic statistic for the respective mobile nodes and theaccess points. The controller utilizes the previous history of thetransaction statistics for the respective mobile nodes or can simplyutilize a system wide default parameters based on the service beingrequested. In such a real-time allocation if the system grants a videoon demand request, and further determines that the access point beingutilized would require additional voice circuits, it can thenpreemptively have all data traffic be routed using mobile node to mobilenode relaying rather than grant short term data packet, to only refuse avoice connection later. The network is optimized using transactionalhistory to predict what the likely requirements will continue to be overa near term, and then take preemptive action before a congestioncondition occurs. This is especially advantageous when real-time streamsof multi service such as voice calls or video streams are involved dueto the persistent nature of these events. When a voice call isinitiated, the user is anticipated to continue to utilize the connectionfor a period of time such as a few minutes, this anticipatoryinformation can be utilized to preemptively optimize the network.Similarly when a user initiates a video on demand or a broadcast videostream, it is highly likely that this type of traffic will last severalminutes. The segregated command and control from the data traffic of thepresent invention further provides the ways for queuing of transactions.The present invention thus has an advance notice of what is required inthe near future to anticipate congestion, and preemptively circumventit.

Thus, a wireless network having control plane segregation has beendescribed. In the foregoing specification, the invention has beendescribed with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. Itwill be evident that various modifications may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than arestrictive sense.

1. A network architecture, comprising: a plurality of access pointscoupled to a wired network, each of the access points being capable ofcommunicating with one or more mobile nodes over a wireless network; anda controller coupled to the access points over the wired network, thecontroller maintaining network traffic information of the wirelessnetwork and communicating the network traffic information with theaccess points to enable the access points to cooperate with each otherto provide network services to the one or more mobile nodes over thewireless network.
 2. The network architecture of claim 1, wherein thecontroller is separated from the access points and is to centrallymaintain and manage the network traffic information on behalf of theaccess points.
 3. The network architecture of claim 2, wherein thecontroller periodically queries each of the access points regardingstatus of the respective access point, and wherein the controllerfurther provides status updates regarding other access points to each ofthe access points.
 4. The network architecture of claim 1, wherein thecontroller communicates with the access points regarding the networktraffic information over a control and command channel that is differentthan a data channel where the data is transmitted.
 5. The networkarchitecture of claim 4, wherein the control and command channel isestablished using a communication frequency different than acommunication frequency of the data channel.
 6. The network architectureof claim 1, wherein each of the access points further maintains a localnetwork traffic profile including at least a portion of the networktraffic information of the controller.
 7. The network architecture ofclaim 6, wherein each of the access points manages the network trafficof the respective access point using the network traffic informationprovided by the controller over a wired network when a communicationlink between the controller and the respective access point isavailable.
 8. The network architecture of claim 7, wherein each of theaccess points manages the network traffic of the respective access pointusing the local network traffic information maintained locally by therespective access point when a communication link between the controllerand the respective access point is unavailable.
 9. The networkarchitecture of claim 8, wherein the respective access pointsynchronizes the network traffic information with the controller whenthe link becomes available again.
 10. The network architecture of claim1, wherein the network traffic information includes at least one of afrequency usage, a power usage, and frequency interference.
 11. Thenetwork architecture of claim 1, wherein the controller communicateswith the access points over a communications channel in a secure andencrypted manner.
 12. The network architecture of claim 1, wherein theaccess points communicate with the mobile nodes over a communicationschannel in a secure and encrypted manner.
 13. The network of claim 11,wherein a security mechanism used for a given channel changes from timeto time.
 14. The network architecture of claim 11, wherein the controland command channel is established using a different security mechanismthan a communication frequency of the data channel.
 15. The networkarchitecture of claim 11, wherein the control and command channel isestablished using a plurality of security mechanisms.
 16. The networkarchitecture of claim 11, wherein the data channel is established usinga plurality of security mechanisms.
 17. The network architecture ofclaim 11, where in a plurality of data channels are established using agiven security mechanism.
 18. The network architecture of claim 11,wherein a plurality of data channels are established using a pluralityof security mechanisms.
 19. The network of claim 12, wherein thesecurity mechanism used for a given channel changes from time to time.20. The network architecture of claim 12, wherein the control andcommand channel is established using a different security mechanism thana communication frequency of the data channel.
 21. The networkarchitecture of claim 12, wherein the control and command channel isestablished using a plurality of security mechanisms.
 22. The networkarchitecture of claim 12, wherein the data channel is established usinga plurality of security mechanisms.
 23. The network architecture ofclaim 12, where in a plurality of data channels are established using agiven security mechanism.
 24. The network architecture of claim 12,wherein a plurality of data channels are established using a pluralityof security mechanisms.
 25. A method, comprising: maintaining networktraffic information within a controller coupled to a plurality of accesspoints over a wired network, each of the access points being capable ofcommunicating with one or more mobile nodes over a wireless network; andthe controller communicating the network traffic information with theaccess points to enable the access points to cooperate with each otherto provide network services to the one or more mobile nodes over thewireless network.
 26. An apparatus, comprising: means for maintainingnetwork traffic information within a controller coupled to a pluralityof access points over a wired network, each of the access points beingcapable of communicating with one or more mobile nodes over a wirelessnetwork; and means for the controller communicating the network trafficinformation with the access points to enable the access points tocooperate with each other to provide network services to the one or moremobile nodes over the wireless network.